Silenced Tunes
by AL19
Summary: "There's something off about your tune," Bansai said bluntly. I turned my head to the side, and stared at him in confusion as I asked, "Huh?" He replied as he pointed his finger at me, "It's flat." My eyes widened, still feeling confused. He was probably the most confusing person I've ever met in my entire life. Bansai/Michiru (OC), AU
1. Flat tunes

**Here it is! Another BanMichi (Short for BansaixMichiru) fic! X3**

**Now, before you read this, I want to explain a few things. First off, the reason I used an e****xcerpt in the summary was because I _couldn't _think of a decent summary. And since I completely _refused _to put down "Summary sucks", I decided to put down an excerpt instead (Now I understand why some people do that). And for the people who put down "Summary sucks" (Or something like that) in their summaries, stop. It's freaking annoying.**

******Also, I realized that a few months ago, in "Traditional Sounds", I made Michiru a bit Mary-Sue(ish), because of the sad past she had. But I didn't realize that a "tragic past" was a Mary-Sue trait until, as I've said, a few months ago. So in this story, Michiru's parents are alive (Just so you know, we will meet them in this story, but not for a while), so she never had a "tragic past". Hopefully, she wasn't a complete Sue in "Traditional Sounds", and I'll try to make her as non-Mary-Sue as possible in this.**

******Well, enjoy the first chapter!**

* * *

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

The alarm in my clock rang loudly, which caused me to groan. Of course, I had to have the alarm on "loud", because it wakes me up quicker. Otherwise I would have the risk of being late to my job.

I slowly lifted myself up, and turned off my alarm clock. I looked at the clock, seeing that it was 8:00.

I ran my fingers through my long hair as I pulled the blanket off of me. A yawn escaped my mouth, but I had to get up now. If I went back to sleep, then I'd be late for work.

Standing up from my bed, I went to my closet, and took out one of my dresses, and a strapless bra. The dress was a knee-length magenta short-sleeved dress. I also grabbed a pair of spandex from my drawer, simply because I refused to have my underwear be seen. Even if my dresses were knee-length, I was still self-conscious to the point where I _had_ to wear spandex underneath.

After getting dressed, I went to my window, and opened up my white curtains, letting the sunlight pour in my bedroom. I squinted my eyes, but smiled at how sunny it was. It was summer, after all. And summer was _supposed_ to be sunny.

I walked out of my room, and saw my twin sister, Mika, walking out of her room as well. When Mika noticed me, she smiled, and said, "Good morning, Michiru."

I replied, "Morning, Mika." Mika and I have different rooms, so she doesn't sleep in the same room as I.

Mika raised a brow at me, and said, "You look really tired today."

"Mika, I'm always tired."

She rolled her eyes, and replied, "So am I, but I never show it."

I glared at her, but gave out a sigh, and walked passed her. Mika was still in her pajamas, and she does have a job, but she doesn't need to go to work until ten. She works at a cake shop, and I've been to her work before, even though I'm not a huge fan of sweets.

As for me, I work at a haircut place, and I have to be there at nine.

I entered the kitchen, and took out a bowl, and a box of cereal. More than half of the time, I would eat western cereal, but I also eat traditional breakfast.

After pouring some of the cereal into the bowl, I poured some milk, and then went to the dining room table, sitting down. Mika also had some cereal, only she grabbed a banana, and peeled it. She then took out a knife, and as soon as she was sitting down, she cut the banana, slicing it into pieces. The slices of banana fell into the bowl of cereal, and when she was done, she threw the banana peel away, and started eating. I smiled slightly, and ate as well.

I finished up my breakfast about ten minutes later, and stood up, putting my bowl into the sink. I then went to the bathroom, and as soon as I entered, I checked myself in the mirror.

I looked the same as I did every day. Long, dark-red, slight wavy hair, and dark-blue eyes. I, once again, smiled, but grabbed my hairbrush, and brushed my hair, getting rid of the knots. It didn't hurt, but it wasn't very comfortable.

I finished getting rid of the knots, and I set my brush down. Now all I had left to do was brush my teeth. I pulled out my toothbrush, and grabbed the tube of toothpaste. But when I tried getting some toothpaste out, there wasn't much left.

A frown appeared on my face, and I called out, "Mika! We're nearly out of toothpaste!"

"Don't worry!" She called back. "I'll get some I'm on my way home from work!"

I sighed with relief, and managed to brush my teeth, despite the lack of toothpaste we had.

Moments later, I finished up, and left the bathroom. I grabbed my purple purse from my room, and now I was ready to go to work.

As I was putting my slippers on, I said, "I'll see you later, Mika."

"Bye, Michiru," She replied.

With that, I exited my house, and as soon as I closed the door behind me, I sniffed the breezy air, and headed for work.

I do drive a car, but since my work is only a few blocks away (And not to mention that it's _really_ nice out today), I walked.

The sun shined on my dark hair, and I ran my fingers through it as I thought, _I'm glad it's not hot right now. When it becomes afternoon, then it'll probably get hot._

You could say that I liked summer, but when I'm standing in the sun too long, my hair starts to feel like it's on fire. Not that it's ever been on fire, but I hate how it feels too hot. And I like having long hair, so…yeah.

Birds were chirping in the sky, and kids were having ice cream, or having something cold to drink. Adults were also probably heading for work, only they were running as if they would be late to their own jobs.

But aside from that, there weren't very many people on the streets, probably because it was still early in the morning.

I crossed a street, and soon, I saw my job. I've been working there for about two years, and I've actually enjoyed working there. Well, actually, that's _mostly_ true.

In a matter of moments, I entered the small building, and was greeted by one of my friends, Matako Kijima.

"Good morning, Michiru-San."

"Morning, Matako-San."

We've been friends for nearly a year and a half, and we get along pretty well.

Another one of the employees came into the building, and her name was Mutsu. Mutsu greeted in a flat tone, "Morning."

Matako and I said at the same time, "Good morning."

Mutsu isn't exactly my friend as well, though we do have occasional conversations.

Mutsu walked over to one of the chairs (Where people get haircuts), and organized the small table in front of it. She put a pair of scissors, and a comb in a small container.

Matako, on the other hand, asked me, "Michiru-San, what do you think of my new dress?" She wore a pink tang-top dress, with ruffles on the bottom. Yes, her dress almost had the same color as mine, only it was lighter.

I smiled a bit, and answered, "It's nice. But why the question all of a sudden?"

"I want to impress a guy I've been crushing on for a long time."

"Does he even know you have a crush on him?" I teased her. She once briefly mentioned about a guy she likes, and yet she never told me his name. Oh well, it's not like I care.

Matako's cheeks started to flush, yet she managed to answer, "No, but I'm planning on telling him. I don't know when, though."

"Do you think he likes somebody else?"

Her eyes widened in surprise. Maybe it was a question I shouldn't have asked. Oops.

Matako exclaimed, still having her cheeks flushed, "N-No! That can't be possible! He doesn't love someone so easily! That's why I wanted to wait…to tell him my feelings, you know."

I nodded, "Right. Sorry."

"You're fine," She replied, and turned around, walking to the bathroom. She entered the bathroom, and locked the door behind her.

Just then, Mutsu and I heard another voice.

"Good morning, ladies."

We both turned around, and saw our boss, named Teki Setsora. He had short, choppy black hair, and dull green eyes. He also had a bit of facial hair.

He gave us a smile, but it looked a bit creepy. There was one thing that I didn't like about this job, and that was my boss. He's been acting like a creep, and when I got the job two years ago, he was pretty friendly. But six months ago, he's been acting…differently. I couldn't exactly figure out why he wasn't being his 'friendly' self anymore, but the only thing I do know is that I don't like him at all anymore. Whenever he's standing next to me, it makes me feel really uneasy.

Mutsu greeted him back, "Morning, Setsora-San."

I also greeted him, but muttered, "Morning."

Teki stared at me, and still had that creepy smile on his face. I thought, _Stop staring at me! It's very awkward!_

Right after my thought, I could hear Matako exiting the bathroom. She said to our boss, also sounding uneasy, "Morning, Setsora-San."

"Morning," Teki replied at the blonde.

Matako blinked, staring at him as if he would come and attack her. She gave him a cracked smile, and said, "Well, I'll start working, sir."

"You don't have to refer to me as 'sir'," He told her, sounding a bit creepier.

Matako had a drop of sweat rolling down her cheek. She "corrected" herself, "I-I'll start working."

"Me too," Mutsu said nonchalantly. Sometimes I wonder how she acts so calm, despite Teki's attitude.

I mumbled, "Me three." The first thing I did was pull out a hair tie from one of the drawers. I don't like wearing ponytails, but it was one of the rules when working here. If I didn't wear ponytails, then my hair would get in my face. That was half-true, because my hair doesn't _always_ get in my face. The good news, though, was that I tolerated ponytails.

As soon as my hair was up, I let some of it fall down beside my cheeks. They did look like sideburns, but they weren't. The reason why some of my hair was beside each side of my face was because my hair also covered my ears. And the only times my ears are shown is when I tuck my hair behind them.

Anyway, I grabbed a black apron, and put it on me as Mutsu turned the sign on the door from "closed", to "open". Matako also put on an apron, and she adjusted her ponytail as she walked to the front counter.

She turned on the cash register, and as soon as she finished fixing her ponytail, she gave herself a brief nod. She said to herself, "'Hair Plus' is now open."

Yes, that's the name of my workplace. To be honest, I think the name is a bit cheesy, but hey, I'm not the one who named it. And I'm not sure if Teki named it either.

Whatever. I need to get to work.

**-3****rd**** POV-**

**At the cake shop**

An hour had passed, and Mika arrived at her job, which was named "Cake Paradise". Mika got the job two years ago, shortly before Michiru got hers.

She entered the shop, and saw her boss, named Hinowa. Hinowa was in a wheelchair, and her son, Seita, pushed her as Hinowa greeted, "Good morning, Mika-Chan."

Mika greeted back as she slightly bowed, "Good morning, Hinowa-San."

Three and a half years ago, an intruder came into Hinowa's house, which obviously scared her and Seita. She tried her best to protect Seita, but the intruder punched her, and then cut the back of her feet with a knife. The intruder stole a few things from her house, and then left, but the police caught him around an hour later. Hinowa was sent to the hospital, and the doctor told her that she could never walk again, due to the cuts on her feet. And the cuts were pretty deep. Because of that, Seita insisted on taking care of her. And since it was summer, he'd go to work with her, and help her whenever she needed it.

Hinowa looked at the clock, and said, "Mika-Chan, I need you to do something."

Mika nodded, "Sure. What is it?"

"I need you to go get the strawberry cheesecake from the freezer. It's the 'special' today."

Mika smiled, "Gotcha." With that, she ran into the kitchen, and opened up the freezer, where she saw the cheesecake, just like Hinowa had said. Mika carefully held the bottom of the cardboard (The cheesecake was round, not just a slice), and walked back to her boss.

Hinowa smiled back, and told her, "Would you mind cutting up the cheesecake?"

"Not at all."

Seita gave the short-haired girl a triangular spatula, and Mika accepted it, cutting it into the cheesecake.

Moments later, she finished cutting it into slices. Mika set the spatula down, and lifted up the cardboard again, smiling at it.

Hinowa said, satisfied, "Very good, Mika-Chan. You can put it on one of the shelves."

Mika nodded, and set the now-sliced cheesecake in the clear-glass "cabinet".

When she placed it on the shelf, Hinowa asked off-topically, "How's your sister doing?"

"Oh, she's doing fine," Mika answered without looking at the woman. "Though, she told me that her boss has been acting weird lately."

Hinowa raised a brow. "What does she mean by that?"

"She means that his personality suddenly changed half a year ago. I don't know what happened to him, and I know Michiru doesn't know either, but I'm worried about my sister."

"I understand. Michiru-Chan isn't the type of person who's fooled easily, right?"

"Right," Mika admitted. "But why this question all of a sudden?" She didn't want to be rude to her boss, but when Hinowa asked her that question, it send Mika _slightly_ off-guard. What did that have to do with anything? True, Michiru wasn't the kind of person who would be fooled so easily, but still.

Hinowa closed her eyes, and answered while still smiling at the dark-red haired girl, "Michiru-Chan would probably be in danger if she was fooled easily."

"What do you mean?" Mika was definitely confused on what Hinowa was trying to say.

"Well, what's her boss like now?"

"Er, creepy." That was all Mika said.

Hinowa replied, having her smile leave her face, "Then she would be in danger if she was fooled easily, because her boss might have something terrible going on in his mind."

"Um…" Mika was still confused. She just stared at her.

Hinowa sighed, and told her son, "Seita, could you go outside for a moment?"

Seita blinked, but nodded, and walked out of the cake shop. He stood outside, patiently waiting for them to finish talking.

Hinowa continued on, "As I was saying, her boss might have something bad going on, and by that, I mean that he _might_ be into drugs. And if Michiru-Chan was the 'fooled-easily' type, then he would force her to do drugs as well."

Mika's eyes widened in slight shock. She asked, sort of stammering, "D-Drugs?! That's ridiculous! That can't be true! I don't think he would ever do that to my sister!"

Her boss sighed once again, "Mika-Chan, I think we should open up the shop now." As soon as those words escaped her mouth, Mika realized that Hinowa had nothing else to say.

She nodded slowly, and walked to the front door, switching the shop sign to "open". Mika looked outside, and didn't see anybody walking by…until a man entered the shop.

Mika stepped aside, and greeted the man, "Welcome to 'Cake Paradise'." Although the man came here more than once, Mika had been told to greet them, no matter how many times they've been here.

The man, who had wavy silver hair, replied as he picked his nose with his pinkie, "Yeah…you don't need to say that every time I come here."

An anger mark appeared on Mika's cheek, but she said as calmly as she could, "But I have to. My boss told me to."

"Whatever. Anyway, I need some cake."

Mika rolled her eyes when he wasn't looking.

Hinowa greeted the man as well, "Good morning, Gin-San. How's your wife doing?"

The man, who was actually named Gintoki Sakata, answered, "She's fine, though she's having her mood swings again."

Hinowa chuckled, "Gin-San, all pregnant women get mood swings."

"I don't care if that's true or not, but Tsukuyo's been trying to drink alcohol, when she's not supposed to."

"Did you prevent her from doing that, though?"

Gintoki nodded, "Yes, but it's pretty frustrating."

"Well, just don't let her drink any alcohol until she at least has the baby."

He nodded once again, but tried to conceal his frown.

Indeed, Gintoki was married to a woman named Tsukuyo. They've been married for nearly 17 months, but there have been some problems during their marriage. Like Tsukuyo's obsession with alcohol. Yes, they wanted a child, and Tsukuyo was definitely pregnant at the moment, but due to Tsukuyo's love for alcohol, Gintoki's been hiding it, trying to prevent her from even taking a sip. And it was not easy for him.

Mika walked beside her boss, and asked the man, "So…what will you have today?"

But she added in thought, _You know, whenever we open, he'll always be the first customer to walk in. Just how obsessed is he with cakes, and other sweets?_

Gintoki answered, "I've decided to try something new this time."

Mika went over to the cash register, and continued to smile. Gintoki walked up, and said as he ran his fingers through his wavy hair, "I'll try some blue raspberry cheesecake."

"Coming right up!" Mika replied, and crouched as she got a slice out from the "cabinet". She also took out a plate, and set the slice on it.

Mika stood back up, and told the man as she gave him the slice of cheesecake, "That'll be 650 yen."

He grumbled inaudible words as he stuffed his hand into his pocket. He then took out the money, and gave it to Mika, but said in a bored tone, "Stop trying to look sweet. It's creepy."

The redhead glared, "It is _not_ creepy. I may not be the kind of person who's all sweet and stuff, but don't you _dare_ call it creepy."

Gintoki blinked multiple times, and replied, "Now you're trying to scare me? Isn't it against the law for workers to be rude to customers?" He leaned down slightly, and added, "Are you pregnant as well?"

Just as Mika was about to snap at his idiotic question, Hinowa threw a water jug at him, and it hit the back of his head. Gintoki grunted in pain, "GRAU-!"

Hinowa said with a smile, "Sorry, Gin-San. My hands slipped." Yes, that excuse was an extremely cliché one, but who cares?

Gintoki rubbed his head, and felt a bump. He grumbled, "Dammit."

Mika crossed her arms, and told him, "For your information, I'm still a virgin. And I'd rather _stay _a virgin." It was obvious enough that she had no shame of admitting it.

Gintoki was about to reply, but Mika added in a low tone, "And if you say another thing about my personal life, I'm taking the cheesecake away from you."

The silver-haired idiot's jaw dropped, and he held onto the plate, with the cheesecake. He exclaimed, "I paid for this!"

Mika rolled her eyes as Gintoki turned around, heading towards a seat.

He sat down, but glared at Mika as he "stabbed" his cheesecake with a fork. Gintoki stopped glaring at her eventually, and began to eat his cheesecake.

Mika sighed, and decided to go back to the kitchen.

Gintoki, out of curiosity, asked, "By the way, Hinowa-San, why is Seita standing outside?"

Hinowa blinked her eyes, and answered, "Oh, Mika-Chan and I were having a conversation not too long ago. Our conversation…wasn't very _appropriate_ for Seita to hear, so I asked him to wait outside. I'll bring him back inside, now." The woman turned her head to the side, and told her son, "Seita, you can come back in now."

Almost instantly, Seita walked back into the cake shop, and walked beside Gintoki. He said with a small frown, "Gin-San, you didn't bother to greet me."

Gintoki, without looking at the boy, replied lazily, "Good morning."

Seita rolled his eyes, and walked over to his mother. He pushed her wheelchair, and they both entered the kitchen as well.

When Hinowa saw Mika – who was leaning her back on the wall, with her arms crossed – she arched a brow up, and asked, "Are you angry at Gin-San now?"

Mika managed to not roll her eyes at the question, but she responded with a pout, "How am I _not_ angry at that idiot? Asking me if I was pregnant…how insulting!" She couldn't care less if Gintoki heard her, though she didn't want to be _too_ loud, because other customer might've come into the cake shop by now.

Hinowa sighed, "Mika-Chan, he was just joking around…I hope."

Mika pouted again, "Still, that was really rude."

"But are you happy that I hit him in the head with a water bucket?" Hinowa asked with a soft chuckle.

The younger woman smirked, and chuckled as well, "Yeah. That was funny."

**-Michiru's POV-**

**Hours later…**

It was nearly six o'clock, which meant that it was time to close.

Matako had finished cutting a customer's hair, and she pulled off the "cape" as she said, "There you go, miss!"

"Thank you," The female customer replied with a small smile.

She stood up, and as soon as she left the building, I gave out a sigh, and thought, _It's finally time to go home._

I pulled the tie off of my hair, and let my hair fall down to my back. Teki came out of his office, and said with a grin, "Good work, ladies."

Once again, he had that creepy smile on his face. Matako and I blinked awkwardly, but I gave him a cracked smile, and replied, "Th-Thanks. Have a good night."

"You, too," He replied in a low tone, which caused a shiver to go up my spine.

Matako and I quickly left, and headed for home. Mutsu left a few minutes ago, so she was probably already home.

Matako sighed loudly, and slightly complained, "Jeez, won't Setsora-San _ever_ stop being creepy? I mean, it's been six months since his attitude completely changed!"

I agreed, "I know. I liked him when he was friendly." I sighed, and added as I rested my hand on my forehead, "But now that's he's a different person – for whatever reason, that is – I hate him. I hate him so much, it's not even funny."

Matako chuckled, "I feel the same way. Though, I'm not sure if I hate him as much as you do, because you look more uneasy than I do whenever he's close to you."

I frowned, "Really?"

She nodded her head. "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow!" The blonde waved at me before walking away.

I still frowned at her, and thought, _This might sound crazy, but I hope Matako-San's wrong about that._

Shaking my head, I continued to walk home…but I just remembered something.

There was a new book Mika wanted, and it was titled, 'Drama Queen vs. Regular Queens'. No, it wasn't a romance book (Mika's not into romance). It was actually a comedy, and since Mika's a fan of comedies – plus the fact that she's been wanting it for a few months now – I decided to get it for her. For some reason, she either keeps forgetting to get it herself, or she just doesn't have enough money. Then again, I don't even know how much the book costs, so I guess I'm going to have to find out by going to the book store.

And that's where I was going.

I turned to the left at the end of the street, and headed for the store.

**Five minutes later…**

I finally arrived at the book store, which was called, 'Depth in Pages'. I entered the store, and saw that it was nearly crowded. The book store wasn't too small, or too big, and it was apparently popular, because tons of people go here every day.

I scattered through the crowd, and went over to the "Comedy" isle.

As soon as I was in the isle, I sighed with relief, and thought, _Phew! I nearly got squished there!_

For the truth, even though I like this book store, I rarely come here, because, well, it's crowded. And I don't like crowded places.

Anyway, I walked through the isle, and I looked both ways, seeing both shelves. I frowned when I didn't see the book Mika wanted, but eventually, the title caught my eye.

_Aha! "Drama Queen vs. Regular Queens"!_

As a smirk crept up my face, I grabbed the book, and looked at the back of it, seeing how much it cost.

I raised my brows, and thought once more, _Wow, this is fairly cheap._

My smirk grew wider, and I held the book to my chest, now ready to buy it.

But as I was about to leave the isle, I accidentally bumped into someone. I gasped, and said as I took a step back, "Sorry!"

The person I bumped into was a male. He had spiky teal-hair, and wore a pair of yin-yang headphones. He also wore sunglasses, but they were so dark, I couldn't see his eyes at all. The man was wearing a white shirt, with a yin-yang print on it, with a teal jacket (Isn't he hot in that? I mean, it's summer, for Christ's sakes), and black pants. He was carrying something on his back, and it looked like it was a guitar case.

He turned to look at me – I think he was looking at me – and raised a brow. He pulled his headphones down, and replied, "Be careful where you run to. You'll hurt somebody, I daresay."

"Wha- I just said sorry! Did you not hear me?!" I accidentally exclaimed in shock.

"No, actually," He admitted.

My eyes widened, and I took a step back, asking without a second thought, "Are you deaf or something?"

He shook his head with a chuckle, "No. I'm just listening to music."

The man put his headphones back on, and I could somehow hear the music that was playing in those headphones. I frowned, and thought, _Is that why he didn't hear me? Was the volume in his headphones too loud?_

Sighing, I walked away from him, and went over to the counter, where you buy the books. I set the book on the counter, and the employee scanned the book. She told me the price, and I pulled out some money from my purse.

As soon as I gave her the money, she put the book in the bag, and said as she gave me the bag, "Have a good day."

"You too," I murmured, slightly smiling.

I held the handles of the plastic bag, and left the book store.

As I was on my way home, I wondered, _I've never read this book, but maybe Mika will let me read it when she's done with it._

Just as another smile appeared on my face, I heard another pair of footsteps walking behind me.

I was still walking, but my lips parted, and out of curiosity, I turned my head around, only to see the spiky teal-haired man.

I frowned, but decided to ignore him. So I turned my head again, and continued to walk.

I turned around a corner, and after a few moments of walking, I turned my head to the side, still seeing the man.

My frown deepened, and I stopped walking. The man stopped as well, but he was probably wondering why I stopped all of a sudden.

I crossed my arms, and asked as I slightly glared at him, "Why're you following me?"

He didn't respond. I clenched my teeth, and charged towards him.

When I was about a foot in front of him, I snatched the headphones away from his ears by grabbing the top of it.

The man frowned back, only he was, most likely, angry at my action. If he was angry, then I couldn't care less.

He told me, "You shouldn't pull my headphones off like that."

I rolled my eyes, and exclaimed while crossing my arms again, "I was asking you a question! You shouldn't have your music up so loudly whenever somebody's asking you something! It's rude!"

He smirked, and asked rhetorically, "And snatching my headphones off isn't?"

That's when I paused. I will admit that I was being a bit rude for pulling his headphones off like that, but I needed him to answer my question _now_.

I managed to reply after a moment of awkward silence, "You still haven't answered my question! Why are you following me?!"

He arched a brow up, and _finally_ answered, "My home is this way."

"Oh." Okay, now I felt dumb for even asking that question. Then again, I don't know this man, so how was I supposed to know where he lives?

Anyway, the man grabbed the pair of headphones from my hands, and put them back on his ears. He told me, "And think twice before taking my headphones off."

I was about to walk away from him again, but he suggested, "How about we introduce ourselves?"

"Why?" I questioned, raising a brow in slight confusion.

"Because our conversation has gotten amusing, I daresay."

I rolled my eyes, and thought, _That doesn't make any sense._

The man introduced himself, "My name is Bansai Kawakami."

I blinked, and replied, also introducing myself, "My name is Michiru."

I didn't get why he wanted us to introduce ourselves. This man was making no sense whatsoever.

Bansai hummed, "Hm…so tell me. What kind of book did you get?"

"Why do you want to know?" I asked, frowning for the umpteenth time.

He responded, "I'm just curious."

I sighed, "Fine." I pulled the book from the plastic bag, and added as I showed him the cover of the book, "It's called 'Drama Queen vs. Regular Queens'. This book is actually for my sister."

He raised a brow, and replied, sounding uninterested, "I see."

I looked at the book in his hand, and asked back as I put my (Sisters') book back into the bag, "Since you ask me what kind of book I got, I want to know what _you_ got at the book store."

Bansai gazed at the book he was holding, and lifted it up, saying, "It's not exactly a book, but this is for people who play the guitar."

I thought, _So he does play the guitar. That would explain why he has that guitar case on his back._

I replied, also sounding a bit uninterested, "Interesting. Anyway, I'm going home, so good-bye."

With that, I turned around, and was about to walk again, but Bansai interrupted my action.

"There's something off about your tune," Bansai said bluntly.

I turned my head to the side, and stared at him in confusion as I asked, "Huh?"

He replied as he pointed his finger at me, "It's flat."

My eyes widened, still feeling confused.

What did he mean my "tune" was flat? What was he even talking about, anyway?

I stood still, and gave the man a what-the-hell look. Bansai was probably ignoring my expression, because he walked past me, heading for home as well. I continued to stare at him until he turned around a corner.

My eyes blinked multiple times, and I began to think, _My "tune" is flat? What the hell is that supposed to mean?! Who IS this man?!_

I shook my head, deciding to forget about it. It wasn't like I was going to see him again. At least, I don't _think_ I'll ever see him again.

I resumed my walk, and stayed silent all the way home.

Even though I don't know anything about Bansai – since we _just _met – I was already confused at him.

He was probably the most confusing person I've ever met in my entire life.

* * *

**Grrr, I'm not very happy with the last part. I really hope it wasn't bad, though. I wanted them to introduce themselves at some point. XP**

**Anyway, I've finally got around to writing this. I've been _dying _to write this, but I wanted to wait until I finished not one, but _two _of my other stories. And now that I'm done with both of them, I can finally post this! So yes, this story is AU, which means that there're no Amanto in this story.**

**I know that Hinowa isn't really the person who eats sweets, but...I don't know. *shot* And I was going to use Gintoki as the boss of the cake shop, but I decided that it would be funnier if he was a customer, eating there every day. XD**

**I think that's all I need to say. Hope you enjoyed the first chapter of "Silenced Tunes"! :)**


	2. Confusing words

**Enjoy!**

**Sisi427: Yep, I started it! XD Yeah, I didn't think she was a Mary-Sue, either. I mean, just because a character has a Sue/Stu trait, doesn't mean it automatically makes them a Mary-Sue/Gary-Stu. :P Aw, thanks. X3 And come to think of it, Gintoki probably _would _eat all the sweets at the cake shop if he was the boss, since he's so addicted to sweets. Guess it's a good thing I only made him a customer. XD And I'm not that surprised you were the first person to review this story, because almost nobody reads Bansai stories (But I still appreciate you giving this story a chance. ^^). *Rolls eyes* Oh well. *shrugs* :P**

* * *

I finally arrived home, but I noticed that Mika wasn't back yet. A sigh escaped my lips as I took off my slippers, and entered the living room.

There wasn't much in the living room. All we had was a couch, a table (Which was in the middle of the living room), a few shelves, and curtains, which were obviously on the windows. We don't have T.V., because we're not into that.

I sat down on the couch, giving out another sigh. I was still holding the plastic bag, with the book in it, but I set it on the couch as well. My hand reached into the bag, and I pulled out the book. As soon as it was completely out of the bag, I stared at the cover without saying a word. Then again, I was alone in the house.

My eyes gazed at the title of the book, and I thought, _Mika will definitely be happy when she sees this._

I nearly smiled, but I just remembered that weird, confusing guy I met not too long ago.

Bansai Kawakami…heh, even his name is amusing.

But that guy was really confusing me. What exactly did he mean by "tune"? I would've asked him that, but I was so confused, that he went home without saying anything else. And I wanted to forget him, but I was too confused at what he said (How many times have I said confused so far, anyway?).

Guess I only had one choice, if I ever wanted an answer from him.

I was going to have to see him again.

Moments later, Mika finally returned home.

She exclaimed, "I'm home!"

I stood up from the couch, and walked into the hallway, seeing her. I gave her a smile, and replied, "Welcome home, Mika."

Mika gazed her eyes down, and asked as she pointed at the book that I was holding, "Is that 'Drama Queen vs. Regular Queens'?"

I smirked, "How did you guess?"

"You don't read books that often, plus I can see the cover clearly," Mika smirked back.

A chuckle escaped my lips, and I lifted up the book, showing her that it really was the one she wanted.

Mika walked towards me, and when she was close enough, she took the book from my hand, and stared at the title on the cover.

She spoke up, "Did you buy this, Michiru?"

"How else did I get this?" I chuckled once again.

Mika replied, "Good point. Thank you, though."

"Anytime. You _have_ been talking about this book for a while now."

"Yeah," She muttered as she still had her eyes locked onto the book.

I bit my lower lip, but I eventually asked, "Say, Mika…when you're done with that book, can I read it? I'm actually kind of curious about it."

She raised a brow at first, but she smiled, and answered, "Sure you can."

I smiled back, and turned around, heading for the bathroom.

As soon as I was in the bathroom, I closed the door behind me, and checked myself in the mirror.

But as I was staring at my own reflection, I thought of Bansai's (Confusing) words, _"There's something off about your tune. It's flat."_

I slightly clenched my teeth, and thought as I knitted my brows, _Was he trying to insult me? Because it sounded like that!_

I glared at the mirror as if my reflection was Bansai. I thought again, _The next time I see him, I'll make sure he explains to me what the hell he was talking about!_

I sighed, and then walked over to the toilet.

A minute later, I flushed the toilet, and left the bathroom.

I decided to ask my twin sister, "Mika, did you get toothpaste?"

"As a matter of fact, I did," She answered as she took out some toothpaste from a small paper bag. Mika added, "Now we don't have to worry about running low on toothpaste."

I grinned, "Yeah. Nobody wants to try to brush their teeth by just using water."

She shook her head in agreement. "Anyway, I'll be in my room, reading my book."

"Okay," I mumbled before walking past my sister.

Before Mika went to her room, she said, "Oh, Michiru, I almost forgot to ask you something."

I turned my head to the side, and raised a brow as I questioned, "What?"

A small smirk crept up her face, and she jokingly asked, "Were you going to get yourself a romance book at the book store?"

I frowned, "Why're you suddenly asking that?"

"Because I know you still want a boyfriend."

My frown deepened. "Mika, that may be true, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't tease me about it. Didn't you remember how I felt in middle school, where that asshole betrayed me?"

Her smirk vanished. She scratched the back of her neck as her cheeks were turning red. Mika murmured, "Er, right. Sorry."

I sighed, "It's fine. Just don't bring it up again."

She nodded – still having her cheeks red – and walked into her bedroom. She closed the door, and I was left alone in the hall.

I sighed again as I ran my fingers through my hair. I decided to go to my room as well, since I did feel a bit exhausted from working so much today (There was actually a lot of customers today, which was amazing, yet insane at the same time).

So I entered my bedroom, and as soon as the door was closed, I jumped onto my bed, stuffing my face into the pillow. I turned around, now lying on my back.

My arms spread out wide as I stared at the ceiling. My lips parted as I thought, _Back in middle school…I used to have a crush on a boy. But, I found out that he was just a total douchebag._

_(Michiru's Flashback)_

_It was near the end of my (Plus my sisters') third year in middle school. The cherry blossom trees weren't in full bloom yet, but they were definitely getting there._

_I had a crush on a boy, who was named Kurumo Marizuki. I've had a crush on him for a few months, and I've been wanting to tell him my feelings for quite some time now. Well, I was going to tell him today, because I found out that we weren't going to the same high schools together. And it was better to tell him now, before the end of the school year._

_I told Mika, "I'll be right back, Mika. I need to go find Kurumo."_

_Mika smirked, "Are you going to try to tell him your feelings now?"_

_My cheeks flushed, but I nodded, "Yes. As I've said, I'll be right back."_

_She nodded back, and I ran through the hallway, searching for Kurumo._

_In middle school, I was shyer, and even more cheerful. I would always smile as if I was a little kid, wanting an ice cream cone._

_I ran out of the school building, and moments later, I heard Kurumo's voice._

_A smile spread across my face, and I was around to turn at the corner of the school, but I heard him say something that I did not expect him to say._

_He was talking to somebody else, and he said with a snicker, "That Michiru is so stupid."_

_My eyes widened in shock, and the other person – which I assumed was a boy, because of how he spoke – replied, "Yeah. She probably thought you liked her back. Love is overrated, if you ask me!"_

"_Well, I wouldn't say love is overrated…but yeah, Michiru-Chan must've thought I liked her…in a romantic way. Hahahaha! I can't say it without laughing!" Kurumo laughed._

_My eyes were as wide as saucers, and I just stood there, thinking, _What? He knew that I liked him all along? And he's taking this as a joke?

_I narrowed my eyes, and continued to hear Kurumo say, "I freaking hate myself for hanging out with that tomato-haired girl! Maybe I wouldn't hate her so much if her hair was a different color!"_

_My teeth clenched as soon as I heard those words escape my mouth. I thought, _"Tomato-haired girl"?! How dare he insult my hair!

_I wasn't crying or anything. I just felt extremely insulted. How could I have been so naïve? What did I do to make him hate me so much? Well, all I know is that my feelings for him have suddenly drained away. I no longer cared for him. Instead, I wanted to beat the living shit out of him._

_So without another second to spare, I turned around the corner, and shouted, "KURUMO!"_

_Kurumo paused, and slowly turned around, seeing me. The other boy clenched his teeth, and ran away from us._

_Kurumo raised a brow at first, but then chuckled, "You overheard our conversation, huh?"_

"_What the fuck do you think?" I growled, giving him a harsh glare._

_He chuckled again as he closed his eyes, "My, my, watch your language there."_

"_Shut up!" I snapped, causing him to flinch slightly. "You don't like me at all, do you?"_

_Kurumo smirked, and admitted, "Of course not. Why would I like a girl, whose hair is the same color as a tomato? And I fucking hate tomatoes, so yeah."_

"_That's the reason why you don't like me?!"_

"_No, there're more reasons." Kurumo took two steps towards me, and he pointed at my breasts, adding, "Your breasts are not big enough to interest me, and you always wear those stupid spandex."_

_I clenched my fist, and he crossed his arms as he continued, "If you ask me, you're nowhere near beautiful. You're as ugly as a pig."_

_That's when I punched him in the face. He probably didn't expect that, because he yelled in pain. Kurumo managed to not fall down, but he covered his nose, and I could see blood seeping through. Apparently, I punched him in the nose, instead. Oh well, it's not like I give a shit about this asshole anymore._

_Kurumo let go of his nose, but his whole body shook, seeing the blood on his fingers. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye, and snarled, "You…bitch!"_

_I replied in a serious tone, "My hair is darker than the color of tomato, and don't you _dare _call me ugly. I may not be the prettiest girl in school, but I am not ugly, either. You should think twice before saying an insulting comment like that." I blinked, and then added, "Oh, and take your stupid ribbon back."_

_He gave me a ribbon on Valentine's Day, and I liked it, and wore it on my head every day, but since I no longer had feelings for Kurumo, I pulled the ribbon off, and tossed it to the ground._

_Kurumo stared at the ribbon as a drop of sweat rolled down his cheek. I said as I pointed a finger at him, "I don't ever want to see your fucking face again. I won't miss you at all when I go to high school."_

_With that, I turned around, and headed straight back for my sister._

_I returned to my sister minutes later, and as soon as I was in front of her, she asked with a small smile, "How did it go?"_

_I looked into Mika's eyes, and responded, "I hate him."_

"_Huh?" Mika questioned in confusion._

_I sighed, "He insulted me. He never liked me, not even as a friend. In fact, Kurumo hates me. And I don't ever want to see him again."_

_Mika narrowed her eyes, and whispered, "I see…"_

"_So from now on, I'm not going to be the naïve, shy girl I once was. I'm going to get serious here."_

"_Does that mean you don't want a boyfriend, anymore?"_

"_I still want a boyfriend…but I'm going to have to wait until I find a man, who doesn't use me as a tool, or betray me. And he said he hated me, because I, apparently, wasn't his type. He only cares about looks."_

_My eyes narrowed, and I stared at the floor as I clenched my fists again. I added, "Looks aren't everything."_

"_True," Mika agreed._

_I gave her a warm smile, and told her, "Let's go home."_

_She nodded, and we headed for home._

_(End of Michiru's Flashback)_

I turned to my side, and thought as my eyelids lowered, _Finding a man who won't use me as a tool, or betray me…is it even possible? I mean, you can never tell if someone's lying or telling the truth._

Ever since the end of middle school, I've changed into a different person. I decided to get serious, and it was probably better that way, because I hate people who betray others. No, scratch that, I _despised_ betrayal. I despised it to the point where I wished it didn't even exist, if that made any sense. I also despised people who used others as tools, because is life _that _unfair? I know that no one has a perfect life, but it was just ridiculous. I've been used as a tool before, and I was going to make sure that didn't happen again. I was also going to make sure that I wasn't being too naïve.

My eyes closed, and I continued to think, _Oh well, I still have plenty of time. It's not like I need to rush anything. I have work and bills to worry about, anyway._

**-3****rd**** POV-**

Bansai Kawakami eventually returned to his home, which was actually an apartment. The kind of apartment he lived in wasn't big, but it wasn't small either. Hell, he didn't have very many items in his apartment, other than the obvious things (Couch, bed, etc.).

He took off his shoes, but still carried his guitar case. He turned on a light, and walked across the living room, now heading towards his room. The teal-haired man didn't stop until he entered his bedroom.

Bansai didn't bother turning on the light, because it was a florescent one. No, he wasn't the one who put it in the…bulb socket, or whatever it was called. It has been there since he moved into his apartment. And he would switch the bulb with a "regular" one, but there were two problems. One: the ceiling was a bit too high for him to reach; and two: the whole apartment complex's lights only work with florescent bulbs. Bansai wasn't a fan of florescent lights, because he thought they were too bright (At least, whenever he takes off his sunglasses, which only happens when he's taking a shower, or when he's going to bed). So the only "light" he would have – when it was dark outside – was a candle being lit. He would only tolerate the florescent light in the living room, because his living room was pretty big.

The man grabbed the pack of matches, and pulled one out. He then swiftly rubbed it on the side of the pack, and fire was on the small stick. Bansai carefully set the fire on top of the candle, and the candle was now lighting. He blew the fire away, and when that was dealt with, he placed the tiny stick beside the pack.

He sat down on his bed, and unzipped his guitar case, where he took out his guitar. His guitar was an electric one, and it was red, with a skull print on it. He wasn't too crazy about skull prints in general, but there wasn't any guitar cooler than this one when he first got it.

Crossing his legs, Bansai rested the butt of his guitar on his thigh, and picked up one of his thumb guitar picks. He put it on his thumb, and was ready to practice.

He began plucking the metal strings on the guitar, and despite the music playing in his headphones, he was able to tell which notes he was playing. He's a skilled guitar player, after all.

The spiky-haired male practiced on his guitar for a few moments, when all of a sudden, he felt something vibrate in his right pocket.

Raising a teal brow, Bansai stopped practicing, and he set his guitar down before reaching into his pocket, pulling his phone out. He also pulled his headphones down, where they rested on his shoulders.

Bansai opened up his phone, and when he found out it was the person he worked with, he smirked, and pressed "send".

He held his phone against his ear, and asked, "Otsu-Dono, what's up?"

The person he worked with was named Tsu Terakado, or Otsu for short (That's what her fans call her, anyway). She was a popular singer, and she was, apparently, best known for her _completely_ inappropriate lyrics. Her lyrics would go from toilet humor, to grandmas having sleep-sex with young males. Uh…yeah, those are the kind of lyrics she sings, because she and her producer were weird.

Tsu replied through the phone, "Tsunpo! I just thought of new lyrics!"

The reason Tsu called him "Tsunpo" was because it was Bansai's nickname. He never revealed his real name to Tsu, or showed his face to the pop-star, because if he used his real name – plus reveal his identity to her – and Tsu would tell her fans who he was, then he would have paparazzi following him everywhere. So the only way for that to not happen is to keep his identity as secret as possible. And it was working, since _no one_ exactly knew who Tsunpo was.

Bansai arched a brow up, and asked, still smirking, "Oh, really? What kind of lyrics are they this time?" He was actually Tsu's music producer, which meant that – most of the time – he would come up with lyrics for Tsu's new songs.

Wait a minute, not too long ago, the author mentioned that Tsu and her producer were weird for coming up with sick-ass songs, and since Bansai's the one who produces, that means…the author was calling him weird! Shame on you, author!

Anyway, Tsu responded in a cheerful tone, "I actually came up with something much more amazing than the other lyrics I've thought of for my new album! I haven't thought up of a title yet, but the lyrics go like this…"

She cleared up her throat, and began to sing, "'If you dare come near me, I swear I'll bitch-slap you~! If you dare come near me, I swear I'll bitch-slap you~! And when I'm done bitch-slapping you, I'll take your glasses from your face~!'"

So far, Bansai was amused at the lyrics – plus the way she was singing it – and a soft chuckle escaped his lips. He reached over to his nightstand, and pulled a sheet of paper. He then grabbed a book, and set it on his lap as he also held a mechanical pencil.

He said, "You want me to write them down for you?"

"Yes, please! My mother and I are doing errands at the moment, which is why I called you!"

Bansai chuckled once more, "Otsu-Dono, even if you aren't doing errands, you call me, asking if I have any ideas for lyrics, I daresay."

"Well, that's true, but still!" Tsu cheered once again.

Her mother could be heard in the background, "Tsu, could you keep it down? I'm on the phone, too."

Tsu replied to her mother, "Sorry, mom, but when I'm feeling this excited, I can't help it!"

Even when Bansai couldn't see the expression on Tsu's face, it was obvious enough that she was smiling, like she always does. Tsu's a happy-go-lucky girl, and even sometimes acts like a child whenever she's angry. Not that she's angry that often, but still.

Her mother sighed, but Tsu ignored her, and said to Bansai, "Anyway, if you have any good lyrics for new songs, then write them down, and send them to me!"

"That's what I always do, I daresay," Bansai replied.

"Alright, I'm gonna get going! We're just about to go the spa! Bye!"

"Bye." With that, the call ended. Bansai pressed "end", and closed his phone, setting it on his bed.

He thought about the last part Tsu said. How was going to the spa an errand? Maybe it was the last place she and her mother were going before heading home, and going to sleep. Tsu, like all celebrities, rarely had any days off, and although she didn't show it, she was always exhausted by long hours on end. Even if she looked like she hadn't slept in a month, she would always smile, and do her best to write amazing songs. Because honestly, no matter how bad, sexual, or even offensive her lyrics were, her fans would cheer her on. Seriously, her fans would scream, "YAY OTSU!" or "HER LYRICS KICK ASS!", as if they were deaf.

Bansai put the paper back on his nightstand, along with the mechanical pencil, and thought, _Maybe the title to this song should be called "Bitch-slap"._

He smirked at his own thought, and gave out yet another chuckle.

Picking up his bloody-red guitar, he put his headphones back on, and went back to his music. Actually, he was listening to Tsu's music, and it was the only music he listened to, because he_ is _Tsu's music producer, after all.

As he was practicing on his guitar again, he thought about the woman he met today.

A grin appeared on his face, and he thought, _Michiru's tune was the flattest I've ever heard, out of all the tunes I've heard from various people._ _Her song lacked of actual music._

By that, what he really meant was Michiru's rudeness towards him. He really didn't appreciate it when Michiru pulled his headphones off so suddenly. All because he couldn't hear her. _Maybe_ Michiru should think twice before doing something like that, though she wouldn't give a damn if Bansai was angry with her. She's a tough woman. Wait, that wasn't the point here.

Anyway, Bansai decided to forget that crazy woman (Not as in "insane", but you probably get the picture), but if he saw her again, and she wanted to have a talk with him, then he would be fine with that, as long as the tune in her "song" wasn't still flat.

**-Michiru's POV-**

**The next day…**

I woke up about an hour earlier than usual, because I wanted to find Bansai, and have a talk with him. I wanted to know what he meant by my "tune", because as I've mentioned, I was really confused.

Mika was still sleeping, and I did my best to not wake her up. I realized that I forgot to tell her about last night (Me seeing Bansai, A.K.A. The confusing man), but I didn't want to bother her. So I decided that I would tell her when I returned home. Today was her day off, anyway.

I left the house after getting ready, and I began walking through the streets.

I kept turning my head side to side, wondering if Bansai was also walking through the streets. I wanted to find him before I had to get to work, but this turned out to be harder than I thought.

An irritated sigh escaped my lips as I ran my fingers through my hair. I thought, _I want to find Bansai before_ _I need to get to work, because his confusing words are now stuck in my head._

Whenever something or someone confuses me, I get angry, and I'll most likely yell. But I try not to yell in public places, because otherwise people will stare at me, and it would be pretty embarrassing.

**Ten minutes later…**

Although it hasn't been long since I began searching for the teal-haired man, I felt a little irritated.

I stopped walking for a moment, and gripped my hair with both my hands. I clenched my teeth as I yelled in my head, _WHERE IS HE?! I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW WHERE HE LIVES, BUT I WANT ANSWERS FROM HIM!_

I don't think I need to say what kind of answers I want from him, because I've already mentioned it a few times.

Anyway, just as I was about to rip my hair off, I heard a familiar voice behind me.

"You're going to mess up your hair if you keep gripping it, I daresay."

My eyes widened a bit, and I let go of my hair as I slowly turned my head around.

When I turned around completely, I saw the man, who confused me completely yesterday.

Bansai Kawakami.

I knitted my brows slightly, and told him, "Shut up. I was just frustrated."

"At what?" He smirked.

I rolled my eyes, and responded as I crossed my arms, "That's not important. I need to talk to you."

A chuckle escaped the man's lips, and he replied, "Why don't we talk at the coffee shop? I was just about to go there, I daresay."

I frowned, "I don't drink coffee."

"I'm not saying you _have _to drink coffee."

I rolled my eyes again, and replied with a sigh, "Fine, we can talk there. I need to go to work in about an hour, anyway."

He didn't say anything, but he began walking to the coffee shop. I followed him, still crossing my arms.

**Another ten minutes later…**

We were in the coffee shop, and while Bansai was getting his coffee, I sat down at a table, patiently waiting for him.

The line wasn't long, so Bansai was able to get his coffee within minutes. He approached the table, and sat down, across from me.

As he took a sip of his coffee, I tapped my upper arm with the tip of my index finger, and said, "About yesterday…"

"What about it?" He questioned as he took another sip of his hot coffee.

I knitted my red brows slightly, and asked, "You said that my 'tune' was flat. Now tell me this…what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Bansai bounced his head, not responding to my question. When I realized that he was listening to his music again, I clenched my teeth, and thought, _Dammit! He really needs to take off those fucking headphones!_

At first, I thought of pulling his headphones off again, but I probably would've been ruder than the last time I did it.

So instead, I snapped my fingers, centimeters in front of his face. Bansai raised a brow, and turned down the volume in his headphones as he informed me, "I'm listening, I daresay."

"No, you aren't!" I snapped, slamming my hands on the table.

A few people gave me weird looks, and when I noticed this, my cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

_Shit, I just embarrassed myself._

I rested my arms on the table, and eventually, the people who were staring at me turned away, going back to what they were doing.

Bansai said, taking yet another sip of the coffee, "Be careful what you're doing. Otherwise you'll receive attention, like you did just now."

"Shut up," I grumbled, but then went back on-topic by repeating my question, "What the hell did you mean by my 'tune' being flat?"

Bansai set his cup on the table, but was still holding it. He finally answered, "Your tune was flat, because you were being rude to me. And when people are rude to me, their tunes fall flat, without any actual rhythm in their song whatsoever."

I frowned at his answer, but asked another question, "What're you even talking about, anyway? What exactly do you mean by their 'song'?"

"I can sense peoples' feelings, even when they don't tell me how they feel, I daresay."

"So…basically, that means you're psychic?"

_That sounds kind of creepy._

Bansai laughed, "No, I'm not a psychic, I daresay."

"Then how can you sense peoples' feelings?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?!" I nearly exclaimed, but tried my best to keep my voice down.

Bansai shrugged, "I mostly likely began to hear peoples' songs when I got my first set of headphones, but I'm not too sure on that."

I sighed, and replied as I rubbed my forehead, "You know what, I don't care whenyou began to hear 'songs' from people, anymore. I only wanted to talk to you, because I was confused on what you said to me yesterday." I stood up, and added, "And since I finally got an answer from you, I should get going. Bye."

With that, I grabbed my purse, and was about to walk away from him, but, once again, he interrupted my action.

"Michiru-San…your tune changed."

I raised a brow, and before I could question him, he said, "It changed to a tune, where it sounds like an old woman is beating her grandson for reading porn magazines."

My jaw dropped, and my eyes widened in complete shock.

I yelled in my head again, _WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THIS MAN?! WHAT DO PORN MAGAZINES HAVE TO DO WITH MY SO-CALLED "TUNE"?! I DON'T EVEN READ PORN!_

I shook my head violently, and scowled at the man, "That makes no sense. If you're trying to insult me, you're definitely pissing me off."

No soon after I said that, I charged out of the coffee shop, and ran.

I may have gotten an answer from Bansai, but he now made me a bit angrier than yesterday.

* * *

**I found out a few months ago that Otsu's never seen Bansai's face (But I already knew that she doesn't know his real name). I found that out by reading a Q&A to Hideaki Sorachi (The author of the Gintama manga) on Tumblr.**

**Anyway, not too long ago, I posted a drawing of Michiru on Deviantart (I'm also planning on posting a bio of her on the same site.), so if you're interested, you can go on my Deviantart account, and you'll see it there (My Deviantart account is xAL19x). :)**

**Hope you enjoyed chapter 2! :)**


	3. Haircuts and drunks

**Enjoy!**

* * *

I ran away from the coffee shop, and I wanted to be as far away from that place, because Bansai was probably still there, drinking his coffee.

Bansai made me angrier than the last time we saw each other. He may have told me what my "tune" was supposed to mean, but that didn't help calm me down one bit. The only thing I was glad about was that he explained to me that he can somehow sense peoples' feelings, even when people don't say anything about that. That's what he means by "songs".

I may have been less confused after his explanation, but like I said, I didn't calm down at all. In fact, I was still pissed that he told me that my changed "tune" sounded like an old woman beating her grandson up, because he was reading porn magazines.

What sense does _any_ of that make?! To me, it makes _zero_ sense! But if anyone was like Bansai (If anybody else who acted like him even existed), then they'd think it'd make perfect sense.

When I was sure that I was far enough, I stopped running, and panted in exhaustion as I rested my hands on my knees. I leaned forward as my dark-red hair was getting in my face.

I knew running in the heat wasn't good for you, but I was really angry, that's all. I wanted to get away from Bansai, so…yeah.

I leaned up, and landed a hand on my forehead. I saw a tree nearby, and since I was hot from all that running, I decided to under it, just to get some shade.

As soon as I was under the tree, I sighed, and thought, _What time is it now?_

I pulled out my phone from my purse, and opened it up, checking the time.

_8:06. Okay, so I only have less than an hour before I need to get to work. I don't feel like going back home now, so what should I do until nine o'clock?_

I tapped the head of my phone onto my chin, and raised a brow, wondering what I should do until nine o'clock.

A moment passed before I shrugged my shoulders, and leaned my back against the tree. I chose to stay here until it was time for me to go.

I crossed my arms, and felt a breeze blowing my long hair slightly. My eyes gazed up, and I saw a few leaves falling off of the tree.

A sigh escaped my lips, and just as I was about to close my dark-blue eyes, I heard a feminine voice calling my name.

"Michiru-San!"

Widening my eyes, I turned around, and saw Matako, who was running towards me.

I raised a red brow at her, and as soon as she was in front of me, she stopped, and panted in exhaustion.

I smirked, "You didn't have to run."

"But I saw you," Matako panted. "So I wanted to run. I needed to tell you something, anyway."

My brow was still arched up, but the smirk I had vanished from my face. I asked, "What is it?"

Matako smiled, "Setsora-San called me, and informed me that he was sick." Matako's phone number is the only one Teki knows, because Matako usually gets to "Hair Plus" first, before Teki. I know that doesn't make sense, but that's what Teki told Mutsu and I.

Although Matako said Teki was sick, I couldn't help but sigh with relief. I said, "I know this is wrong to say, but…I'm glad he's sick. Does that mean he won't come to work today?"

She nodded, still smiling, "Yep. Now we won't have to be near him. For today, that is." It was her turn to sigh. Matako added, "I wish he would stop being a creep. Michiru-San, do you have _any _idea what made his personality change?"

I shook my head, sighing once again, "I have no clue. And I suppose you don't have any idea, either?"

Matako also shook her head, and responded, "Sadly, no. But we'll find out…somehow."

"Yeah, somehow…" I trailed off, and made a slight pout.

I thought, _Why? Why did Setsora-San's personality changed? It doesn't make any sense._

My eyelids lowered down, but I heard Matako ask me, "What were you doing, by the way? Were you on your wayto work? Because it's a bit too early."

A chuckle escaped her lips, but I rolled my eyes, and replied, "You're one to talk. You get to 'Hair Plus' _way_ before Setsora-San, Mutsu-San, or I even arrive."

She said as she landed her hands on her hips, "That's because Setsora-San wants me to make sure that everything's neat. The reason he can't do it on his own is because he takes a while before actually getting here."

"Hasn't he been doing that since his personality changed, though?"

That's when she paused. She scratched her chin as she muttered, "Er, yeah, but still. He wants to make sure 'Hair Plus' is neat enough, that way the customers won't complain about the messes."

"That's understandable," I shrugged. "Anyway, no, I wasn't heading to work. I was out early, because I wanted to have a talk with somebody."

Matako raised a blonde brow, and curiously asked, "Who?"

I sighed as I ran my fingers through my hair, "His name is Bansai Kawakami."

Right after my answer, Matako's eyes widened in shock. I stared at her shocked expression, and frowned, "What?"

"Bansai Kawakami?" She repeated the name.

I said, "Yeah…is something wrong?"

She shook her head, and replied, "I know that man."

"Wait, what?" I frowned yet again.

Matako explained, "I was friends with him in high school."

"Friends?" I questioned with a hint of surprise in my tone. Matako nodded as she crossed her arms, giving me a serious look. I added, "I don't mean to be rude, but how were you friends with _that_ guy? I met him yesterday, and he confused the hell out of me by saying that my 'tune' was flat! He explained what he meant by that when I talked to him at the coffee shop, but he still pissed me off!"

"How so?" Matako asked.

I answered as my red brows knitted, "He pissed me off by saying that my 'tune' changed to what sounded like an old woman, hitting her grandson for looking at porn!"

Almost immediately, I could hear Matako laughing. She covered her mouth with her hand, and I could tell that she was trying not to laugh, but her chuckles were enough for me to glare at the blonde.

I scowled at Matako, "I'm not joking here! You think I'd be joking with this kind of tone?!"

The more she laughed, the angrier I got. But Matako eventually stopped, which I was freaking glad, since she was getting on my nerves.

"Sorry, sorry," She apologized as she wiped her right eye with her fist. "That just sounded funny."

I glared at her again, but didn't say anything.

Instead, I sighed, and leaned my back on the tree trunk again. I crossed my arms, and closed my eyes as I thought, _Why did Matako-San have to laugh about it? It wasn't that funny._

Matako suddenly landed a hand on my shoulder, and I barely opened my eyes, seeing the hand.

She gave me a small smile, and asked, "Did you have breakfast yet?"

This question was off-topic, but I remembered that I didn't have any breakfast today.

I gave her a cracked smile, and admitted, "Er, no."

"Then let's get some breakfast," Matako chuckled.

A small smile crept up my face, and I gave her a nod before following her.

**-3****rd**** POV-**

Mika woke up, and she stretched her arms as she thought, _Man, I had a good sleep._

Indeed, she had a good sleep, because she felt too comfortable to even get up. But she got up, anyway, because she was somehow full of energy. Well, _almost_ full of energy.

Mika scratched her hip as she slipped out of her bed. A yawn escaped her mouth, and the short, dark-red haired girl walked out of her bedroom. Since she didn't have work today, she didn't need to get dressed right now. Though, she wouldn't want to stay in her pajamas all day. To Mika, that felt weird.

Anyway, Mika walked down the hall as she gave out another yawn. This time, she covered her mouth, and thought, _Damn yawns!_

She entered the dining room, and licked her bottom lip for no real reason. When Mika looked at the clock, she saw that it was 8:27.

Her dark-blue eyes widened, and she wondered as she bit the tip of her fingers, _Is Michiru sleeping in?! No, that can't be! She NEVER sleeps in!_

Although Mika didn't want to believe that Michiru was sleeping in, she dashed towards her bedroom, and when she was in front of her twin sisters' bedroom door, she forcefully turned the handle, and swiftly opened the door.

When the door was all the way open, Mika stared at Michiru's bed, only to find it empty. Mika blinked multiple times as a drop of sweat rolled down her cheek.

She slapped her forehead, and scolded herself, _What was I thinking?! But…did Michiru leave earlier than usual?_

The redhead let go of her forehead, and nibbled on her lower lip as she thought, _She could've at least said she was leaving. Then again, I always tell her "I'm trying to sleep" whenever she tries to wake me up._

A cracked smile appeared on Mika's face as she scratched the back of her head. As she felt the ends of her short hair, she blinked, and added in thought, _I should probably get a haircut today. Maybe then, I'll see Michiru at her work._

Now her lips turned into a smirk. She said to herself, "I'll wait until about ten, though."

She closed the door, and went back into the kitchen, getting herself some breakfast.

Mika's been to "Hair Plus" before, but she rarely goes there to get a haircut, because her hair grows slowly.

But since Michiru works today, it would be a _great_ time for Mika to see her twin sister.

**-Michiru's POV-**

Over an hour and a half past, and so far, we only had three customers get haircuts.

Mutsu, Matako, and I didn't say a word. I was sweeping up the hair that was on the floor, while Matako and Mutsu were sitting down, reading beauty magazines. I could understand Matako reading a beauty magazine, because she once told me that she wanted to be more beautiful than she was now. Mutsu…well, I don't even know if she wants to be more beautiful than she already is. Oh well, I don't exactly care.

Anyway, just as I swept the pieces of hair into the dustpan, I heard the door open. I gazed up, and saw my sister, Mika.

My eyes widened in surprise, and Mika noticed my expression, because she smirked, "Are you that surprised to see me, Michiru?"

Matako and Mutsu looked at her, and Matako said, "Mika-San! Are you here for a haircut, or are you just visiting your twin?"

Matako chuckled, but Mika rolled her eyes, and answered, "For a haircut."

I smiled slightly, and asked, "Do you want the usual?"

She nodded, and walked towards a chair. Mutsu raised a brow, and asked, "Mika-San, isn't your hair short enough?"

Mika responded without looking at her, "I like having my hair where it barely touches my neck."

Mutsu rolled her eyes, but stayed silent.

Mika soon sat down in the chair in front of me. I smiled once more, but Mika asked, "Michiru, is Setsora-San being a creep to you, and Matako-San and Mutsu-San, again?"

I shook my head, "He's sick today, Mika."

Her eyes widened, but she chuckled, "So he's not here right now?"

Once again, I shook my head. Mika stopped chuckling, and as I put a "cape" on her, she said, "Michiru…you still need to be careful when he's around you."

"I know, Mika," I replied. "I'm not as naïve as I once was."

I put on an apron, and picked up a pair of scissors before standing behind my twin.

Mika teased me, "Be gentle with me."

I rolled my eyes, but smiled once more, "I've cut your hair before."

With that, I felt the ends of Mika's hair, and began cutting them. Her hair was at the bottom of her neck, but she likes to have _very_ short hair, even though, I'll admit, she sometimes looks like a boy. Not that she's ever been called a boy, though.

Anyway, Matako and Mutsu continued to read the beauty magazines, and even though this wasn't the first time I cut Mika's hair, I had to be careful not to cut the back of her neck. Not that I've ever cut her skin with a pair of scissors, but I _almost_ did a while ago.

I told my sister, "Sit up straight, Mika."

Mika did as told, and she straightened herself up. I cut the ends of her hair, and bit my lower lip as I thought, _Just be careful._

But just then, the door opened again. Mutsu put her magazine down as she greeted the customer with a somewhat bored tone, "Welcome to 'Hair Plus'."

I turned my head to the side, and saw…

"EEEHHH?!" I yelled, shocked to see Bansai Kawakami. Yep, it was Bansai. I'm _not_ kidding you.

I nearly dropped the pair of scissors I was holding, but Mika asked, "Is something wrong, Michiru?"

I made a cracked smile, and hesitated, "Uh, n-no. N-Nothing's wrong."

I gazed away from the teal-haired man, and thought, _I did NOT expect this jerk to be here!_

Matako seemed surprised to see Bansai, because she exclaimed his name, "Bansai-Senpai!"

_Wait, "SENPAI"?! Did Matako-San really call him that?!_

I gave Matako a what-the-hell look, and when she saw the expression on my face, she raised a brow, and frowned, "Michiru-San, are you _that_ shocked at seeing Bansai-Senpai here?"

I decided to ask her, "I-Is that what you call him? 'Senpai'?"

She blinked, "Yes, that's what I call him."

"Wh-Why? I'm just curious."

Matako answered as she lifted a finger up, "When we were in high school, Bansai-Senpai became upperclassman of the music club after he won a guitar-playing contest. I was the only one who addressed him as 'Senpai', but I didn't care."

"Why do you still address him as 'Senpai', then?"

She shrugged, "He's the best at playing guitar."

I rolled my eyes, and continued to cut Mika's hair. I heard Bansai say to Matako, "Anyway, I didn't come here to have a chat, Matako-Dono. I came here, because I need my hair washed."

"Did you forget to take a shower?" Matako jokingly asked.

Bansai replied to the blonde, "I didn't have time to take one; that's why I came here."

"Bansai-Senpai…when was the last time we actually talked to each other?"

"Five months ago," Bansai immediately answered as he sat in a chair. The chair he was sitting in was beside a "sink", where we wash customers' hairs.

Matako put a "cape" around Bansai, and told him, "How about you take off those headphones?"

Bansai pulled his headphones off, but said, "I still want to listen to music, though. Nothing sounds right without music, I daresay."

Matako rolled her eyes, but turned on the radio that was on the counter. As soon as the radio was on, she turned up the volume slightly, so that Bansai could hear.

I also rolled my eyes, and thought, _Why does he need to listen to music so badly? It's not like the world's going to end._

I finished cutting Mika's hair, and I pulled the "cape" off of her as I said with a forced smile, "All done."

Mika stood up, and said with a smirk, "Thank you for the haircut."

Mika and I walked to the counter, and as soon as I was in front of the cash register, Mika asked jokingly, "I suppose the haircut wasn't free, huh?"

I snorted, "Just because you're my sister, doesn't mean any haircut you get is free. Now pay up."

"Okay, Miss pushover."

I glared at her, but she gave me some money, and I put the money in the cash register. I then smiled, and said, "Please come again."

I could hear Mika snicker, and she left "Hair Plus".

As a sigh escaped my lips, I gazed at Matako, who was wetting Bansai's hair down. She asked the teal-haired man, "Bansai-Senpai, are you sure you don't want to take your sunglasses off?"

Bansai responded, "I'd rather leave them on, I daresay."

Matako sighed, but nodded anyway, "Fine, then. Now, just relax, and try not to move. That way, you won't get water in your eyes. Or should I say, on your sunglasses."

Bansai's neck rested on the edge of the "sink", where a towel was on it. I wasn't so sure if his eyes were closed or not, but Matako continued to wet his hair, and soon, she put the host down, and grabbed the shampoo bottle.

While I was sweeping up the hair again, Matako told the man, "You may want to close your eyes, if you haven't done that already."

Bansai didn't say anything, but Matako squirted some shampoo onto Bansai's head. She then began to scrub his hair, and I smirked at the scene, because it actually looked kind of funny.

I turned away, trying not to laugh. I heard Matako exclaim, "Bansai-Senpai! I told you not to move!"

"I needed to get my neck more comfortable, I daresay," Bansai replied calmly.

Matako clenched her teeth slightly, and resumed washing his hair. Mutsu flipped a page in the magazine she was reading, and she looked at me, whispering, "Michiru-San, what's so funny?"

"Isn't it obvious?" I rhetorically asked, whispering back. "Look at Matako-San, trying to wash his hair."

Mutsu looked at the duo, and blinked as she replied, "It's not that funny."

Soon, Matako sighed once more, and rinsed the shampoo out of Bansai's hair. As soon as all the shampoo was out, Matako grabbed a towel, and dried off his hair.

Bansai sat up, and when Matako was done, she pulled the towel off of his head, where his hair frizzled.

That's when I laughed out loud. I pointed at his hair as I accidentally dropped the broom.

Matako and Bansai frowned at me, and Matako told me, "Michiru-San, please don't laugh at his hair. It may be frizzy right now, but I'm going to use the hairdryer."

I eventually stopped laughing, but Bansai said, "Your tune went flat again."

I widened my eyes, but slightly glared at the man as Matako began drying his hair. Matako continued to frown at me, but I crossed my arms, and thought, _So I was being rude to him. So what?_

When Matako was done, she pulled the "cape" off of him, and smiled, "Alright, Bansai. Now you need to pay up."

Bansai got up from the chair, and grabbed his headphones, putting them on his ears again. He gave Matako the money, and said, "I'll be heading out now." He grabbed the strap to his guitar case, and picked it up.

Bansai left, and as soon as the door closed, Matako stared at me with crossed arms.

Before I could ask why she was staring at me, she said, "Michiru-San, that was a bit rude of you."

I blinked, and frowned, "But his hair looked funny."

"I don't care. You should _never_ laugh at the customers' hairs. If you're laughing at my hair, or Mutsu-San's hair, then that's different."

Suddenly, my cheeks began to burn up. I averted my gaze away from the blonde, and my frown deepened as I thought, _Dammit, I feel embarrassed now. I hate feeling embarrassed! Guess I have no choice but to apologize. But I don't regret laughing at Bansai's frizzy hair!_

I said, furrowing my brows, "S-Sorry."

Matako gave me a small smile, and replied as she patted my shoulder, "I forgive you, Michiru-San. Just don't do it again."

I slowly nodded, and her phone suddenly started to ring. Matako raised a blonde brow as she stared at her pocket. She pulled out her phone, and she opened it, setting it on her ear.

She asked, "Hello?"

For some reason, she frowned. I couldn't hear the caller, but Matako hesitantly replied to them, "Okay…" She handed me her phone, and informed me, "It's Setsora-San."

I gave the phone an angry look, and I gave Matako a face that said, 'Oh, no! I'm _not_ going to talk to that creep!'. So yeah, I did not want to talk to Teki.

But Matako sighed, and calmly commanded, "He seriously wants to talk to you. He'll fire you if you don't."

I rolled my eyes, but grabbed the phone, and set it beside my ear. I asked, "Yes?"

"Michiru…" Teki slurred my name, which sounded _completely _odd. "…I-I just c-called to let y-you know that y-your b-boobs are gorgeous."

I made (Possibly) the biggest frown ever. I exclaimed, "Are you drunk?! You shouldn't drink while you're sick!"

Teki slurred again, "M-Maybe I am drunk, b-but I-I'll be f-fine."

Without thinking, I yelled, "YOU'RE NOT FINE! DRINKING ALCOHOL ISN'T GOING TO MAKE YOUR SICKNESS GO AWAY!"

Matako widened her eyes, and stared at me wide-eyed as I clenched my teeth in anger.

Teki continued to slur, "S-Sure i-it will! Maybe if I-I d-drink a whole bottle o-of s-sake, maybe my f-flu will g-go away!"

"JUST REST, ALRIGHT?!" I pressed "end", and closed the phone before handing it back to Matako.

Matako frowned, "He's drunk, isn't he?"

I grumbled as I ran my fingers through my hair, "Yeah."

Mutsu said with crossed arms, "Drinking alcohol will only make him worse. And if he keeps doing that, how're we going to get paid?"

"Hm," Matako hummed. "You know, now that I think about it, how _would_ we get paid if Setsora-San got sick for a long time? I mean, I don't like him, but he _always_ gives us checks whenever it's payday, so…"

I continued to grumble under my breath, but I couldn't form anymore words, because I was _this_ angry at Teki for calling on Matako's phone, drunk _and_ sick.

Mutsu waved her hand up and down as she said, "He'll feel better in a few days."

"How do you know?" Matako questioned.

"One of my 'friends' has been through something like this before. He managed to get better in less than a week."

Matako rolled her eyes.

Out of frustration, I decided to go to the bathroom. I didn't want to take out my anger on Matako and Mutsu, so I charged towards the employees' bathroom.

As soon as I was in, I closed the door, and locked it behind myself.

I leaned my back on the door as I thought, _Fucking Teki thinks he can comment on my breasts while talking through the phone, drunk…what bullshit. He's a fucking pervert._

I rested my hand on my forehead, and slowly closed my eyes as I was sliding down to the floor.

My butt soon hit the cold floor, and I barely opened my eyes as I added in thought, _I wish he was back to his friendly self._

**-3****rd**** POV-**

As Mika was on her way home, she stuffed her hands in her shorts pocket, and thought with curiosity, _I wonder why Michiru looked shocked all of a sudden. She saw that spiky-haired guy, and she immediately looked dumbfounded. Hm, maybe I should ask her when she gets home._

She scratched the top of her head, and mumbled to no one in particular, "Yes, I should definitely ask her when she gets home from work."

A sigh escaped her lips, as she crossed the street, she spotted a _very _familiar figure.

Mika raised a red brow, and thought, _That person looks quite familiar._

She squinted her eyes, and when the figure got closer, she snapped her eyes wide, and felt shocked at who she saw.

_Teki Setsora! Isn't he sick?!_

He was still sick, but for some reason, Teki decided to "take a walk". Strange. Everybody knows that when people are sick, they need to rest, whether they want to or not. But Teki just had the balls to go out, despite his sickness.

Mika would've walked away, and ignore the sick man, but she was too confused to do so. Instead, she just stood there, frowning.

Teki stopped walking as soon as he was in front of Mika. Teki raised a black brow at the woman, and asked, "M-Michiru? Wh-Why did you cut your hair? Y-You looked m-more b-beautiful with long h-hair!"

Mika frowned, "I'm not Michiru. I'm Mika."

"Wh-Who?"

Mika rolled her eyes, and raised her voice, "I'm Mika, Michiru's twin sister!"

Teki blinked, but then widened his eyes with realization, "Oh, h-hey, Mika-Chaaan~! H-How's it going?!"

Mika glared at the man, "First off, don't add the 'Chan' to my name. Secondly, are you drunk? Because I can smell the fucking alcohol from your breath!"

It wasn't that Mika disliked the honorific of "Chan"; she just didn't want "Chan" to be added by Teki the creep.

The red-haired woman took a few steps back as Teki replied, "Y-Yeah, I'm d-drunk…so what? I-I can get drunk a-all I want!"

Mika glared, "Not when you're sick! Drinking will only make it worse!"

Teki glared back, but slurred, "Th-That's what M-Michiru said when I called through f-freaking Matako's ph-phone!" Without warning, he charged towards Mika, and when he was close enough, he wrapped an arm around Mika's shoulder.

Mika stared at him in horror as Teki smirked, "B-But I don't c-care…"

Mika yelled in her head, _ABOUT WHAT?!_

He added, "M-Mika-Chan…wh-why don't you come to my p-place, and w-we'll…have s-some _amazing_ s-sex…? Wh-Which r-reminds me…a-are you a virgin?"

Now Mika's jaw dropped in utter shock. Sure, she expected him to say something idiotic, since he was drunk, but this…oh god, this was too much for her to even tolerate.

Just as Teki was about to grab her left breast, Mika pushed him back forcefully. If Teki was anymore drunk than he already was, he would've fallen to the ground. But he managed to steady himself, though his body was wiggling around.

Mika shouted, "DON'T YOU FUCKING _DARE _GRAB MY CHEST!"

Teki landed a hand on the side of his head, and muttered, "Jeez, did you h-have to y-yell?"

"YES, BECAUSE YOU'RE A GODDAMN PERVERT!"

Mika took two steps forward before grabbing Teki's shirt. She gripped it by using both her hands, and she growled as she gave him yet another glare, "Don't ever do that to me again. And don't _ever_ try to do anything perverted to Michiru, you got that?"

Teki raised a brow, as if he couldn't understand what she was saying. But just because he was drunk, that didn't mean he went deaf.

Mika growled once again, "_Well_?!"

A smirk crept up his face, and he grabbed Mika's wrists before pulling them off of his shirt. He snickered, "I heard y-your question, b-brat."

She thought in anger, _Who're you calling a brat?! I'm an adult, you know!_

Teki continued as he burped, "A-And I d-don't want to g-grab your small boobs, a-anyway. I'd r-rather grab M-Michiru's. Her breasts a-are better than y-yours."

Okay, now Mika was about to snap. She clenched her teeth, and told him with an infuriating smirk, "Say one more insulting comment to me. I dare you."

Teki immediately replied, "You l-look like a f-fucking t-tomboy. Tomboys irritate m-me."

That's when Mika was at her limit. Being called a tomboy wasn't _that_ insulting, but Mika hated it when people called her that. Just because she has short hair, doesn't mean she's a tomboy. She clenched her fist, and without warning the sick – and drunk – man, she punched him in the cheek.

Teki fell backwards, and his butt hit the hard ground. He gave out a grunt as he rubbed his cheek.

Mika said in a dark tone, "I am _not_ a tomboy. And also, I will _not_ let you sexually harass Michiru. If you do _anything_ to her that is not appropriate, I will beat the living shit out of you by hitting your head with a glass cup. UNDERSTAND?!" She didn't expect herself to raise her tone on the last part, but it couldn't be helped. Mika didn't want her sister to be in "danger" when Teki was around her.

She remembered Hinowa saying, _"If Michiru-Chan was the 'fooled-easily' type, then he would force her to do drugs."_

Mika clenched her teeth again, but thought, _I'm not letting him touch my sister! Whether he does drugs, drinks a lot of beer, or something else that's terrible, I cannot – and will not – let him do anything bad to Michiru!_

Teki managed to stand up properly, but his head was spinning a bit, due to Mika's punch. He cursed under his breath, "Shit…" Teki let go of his head, but he harshly glared at the redhead. He spoke a little louder, "You b-bitch."

"You didn't answer my question," Mika retorted. "Don't do anything inappropriate to my sister, understand?!"

"Fine, fine," He answered, but Mika doubted that he actually listened to her.

Mika was too frustrated to reply, so she sighed, and walked away from him. But she turned her head to the side, and yelled, "GO HOME, ALREADY!"

With that, she headed home.

Mika put her hands in her pockets again, and grumbled under her breath, "Sometimes I wish Michiru didn't work at 'Hair Plus'."

**-Michiru's POV-**

I eventually exited out of the bathroom, but I rubbed my temple as my eyes narrowed. No, I wasn't having a headache; I was just…irritated, I guess.

Matako asked, "Are you alright?"

I nodded, "I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You've been in the bathroom for nearly ten minutes."

"I said I'm fine!" I snapped, causing Matako to flinch.

My eyes blinked, and I averted my gaze away from her as I mumbled, "I'm sorry." That was all I said to her before going to the sink, and washing my hands.

I thought, _Teki better not talk to me on the phone…ever again._

**Hours later…**

Once again, it was time to go home. I took off my apron, and pulled the hair tie off, letting my hair fall down to my back.

A sigh escaped my lips as I grabbed my purple purse, and rested the strap on my shoulder.

I asked Mutsu, "Mutsu-San, would you mind turning off the radio?"

Mutsu gave me a brief nod before reaching her hand towards the radio.

But before she turned it off, Matako told her, "Wait a minute."

Mutsu and I raised a brow, wondering why she told us to wait all of a sudden. Matako added as she pointed a finger at the radio, "Listen."

"Hm?" I hummed, and decided to listen to the radio.

A man said through the radio, "And now we are here with the very well-known pop-star, Tsu Terakado."

I frowned, "Seriously?"

"Just listen," Matako said.

I rolled my eyes, but continued to listen as the voice of Tsu Terakado said, "Hello, everyone~!"

Although I don't listen to music in general, the _last_ piece of music I'd want to hear would be Tsu Terakado's – or "Otsu", as her fans call her – because all of her lyrics from every single song she sings contain lyrics that're so insane, it's unbelievable (Matako told me about this singer months back). I actually heard one of her songs (Which was actually accidental), and I was so disturbed by her lyrics.

Tsu continued to speak, "I have some wonderful news about my new album coming out. For the first time ever, in my music career and in the music industry, there will be a commentary. The album will contain two disks. One disk is my songs, and the other contains the commentary. The commentary is by Tsunpo, my music producer."

"Tsunpo?" I repeated, raising a brow as a smirk crept up my face.

Matako sighed, "Yes, that's her producer's name. I know who 'Tsunpo' is, though."

"You do?" I questioned, feeling surprised.

Matako nodded, and replied as she crossed her arms, "Yes."

I bit my lower lip, and even though it was kind of wrong to ask, I decided to ask my blonde friend, anyway, "What's his real name? He is a male, right?" "Tsunpo" sounded a bit too masculine to be a woman's nickname.

The blonde blinked, but answered, "Yes, he's a male, but…why do you want to know Tsunpo's real name?"

"J-Just out of curiosity." I frowned at myself for asking that question. I wasn't embarrassed, but I regretted asking, because I knew Matako wouldn't answer, no matter how much I begged her (Even though I don't beg that often).

But it turned out that I was wrong, because Matako sighed once again, "Do you _really_ want to know?" For some reason, she sounded slightly concerned.

I blinked in slight confusion, but nodded my head, wanting an answer.

Matako rubbed her forehead, and chuckled, "You're gonna be pissed."

"Huh?"

"It's Bansai-Senpai."

That's when it felt like my jaw dropped to the ground. My brow twitched, and I screamed in my head, _B-B-B-BANSAAAAIIIIII?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!_

Matako sighed yet again, "See? I knew you were gonna get pissed."

I turned around, and began to claw my face as I whispered, "Why did my curiosity get the best of me?!"

"It happens."

"B-But I'm pissed at myself for asking you that question in the first place!"

I turned back around, and saw Matako and Mutsu rolling their eyes. Mutsu said as she grabbed her black purse, "Well, I better get home. My friend is coming to my house for dinner, so I want to get home before he arrives."

Mutsu walked out of "Hair Plus", and on the radio, Tsu said cheerfully, "I'll give you a sample of the commentary, though…since Tsunpo doesn't want to reveal his actual voice, he purposefully 'butchered' it."

A few seconds later, the commentary began to play, and when we heard a _very_ low voice, Matako and I started to laugh.

"BUAHAHAHAHAHA!"

I landed my hands on my stomach as I practically screamed, "I-IS THAT REALLY SUPPOSED TO BE BANSAI?!"

"APPARENTLY SO!" Matako screamed back as she covered her eyes.

The low voice was so amusing, I thought I would die of laughter. But eventually, our laughter died out, and Matako finally turned off the radio.

She said as she wiped out the water that was forming in her eyes, "Okay, I think we should go home now."

"Yeah," I agreed.

I ran out of the haircut place, and exclaimed, "Bye, Matako-San!"

"Bye, Michiru-San," She replied as she was locking the place up.

I walked away from the woman, and headed straight for home. I sighed as I stared at the sky, and thought, _What a day._

**Ten minutes later…**

As soon as I entered my house, I closed the door behind me, and took off my slippers.

Mika greeted me, "Welcome home, Michiru."

I looked up at her, and smirked, "Do you like your haircut, Mika?"

"Of course." A chuckle escaped my sisters' lips, and she ran her fingers through her very short hair.

Mika blinked once more widening her eyes, for some strange reason. I raised a brow, and asked, "What is it?"

She slowly scratched the back of her neck, and she gave me a cracked smile before asking, "Guess who I saw today on my way home?"

"Who?" I hesitantly asked, feeling a little terrified at what Mika would say.

She sighed, and responded, "Teki Setsora."

My jaw dropped (How many times was my jaw going to drop today?!), and I stared at my sister in disbelief. I wished she was joking, but she looked too serious to be making a joke like this.

I half-glared at my twin, and asked, "Really?!"

She nodded as she crossed her arms, "I wish I was joking."

"Dammit, I've been in shock _too many_ times today! And he was supposed to stay in bed, not roam around in the streets, sick and drunk!" I grabbed parts of my hair, and if I was anymore angry, then I probably would've ripped some of my hair off.

Mika replied, "That reminds me. Why did you look so shocked when you saw that spiky-haired guy at 'Hair Plus'?"

As soon as she finished her question, I let go of my hair, and stared at her once more as I thought with realization, _Oh yeah, that's right. _

I sighed deeply, and answered as I narrowed my blue eyes, "Because I met him yesterday at the book store."

She arched a brow up, and asked another question, "Okay…and what was so shocking about seeing him again? He's not a creep like Teki, is he?"

I shook my head, "Definitely not. But I was shocked at seeing Bansai again, because he pissed me off."

Mika frowned in confusion, "How so?"

I grumbled under my breath, but took a deep breath, and told her what happened yesterday and this morning.

After explanation to Mika about Bansai, and his weird ability to sense peoples' feelings, Mika was silent. She uncrossed her arms, and it seemed that she was really at a loss for words.

I muttered, "Yeah…he's a weird guy, and I hardly even know him."

Mika finally spoke up, "So…he told you that he's not psychic, yet he can tell how people feel?"

I nodded. Mika added, "That…doesn't make any sense."

"That's what I thought."

Mika cleared her throat, and said, completely changing the subject, "A-Anyway, I've read a good chunk of 'Drama Queen vs. Regular Queens' so far, and it's very good."

"I see," I replied, deciding to forget the previous subject. "I haven't read the book yet, but what chapter are you on?"

"Chapter three."

"Ah."

Now I didn't have anything to say. I scratched my arm awkwardly, and walked into the living room as Mika said, "I think I'll start making dinner."

"You go ahead and do that," I said.

Mika nodded, and went to the kitchen.

_Today was a really weird day._

* * *

**Okay, I think that's a good place to stop. I'm not too proud of this chapter, but hopefully, it wasn't that bad.**

**Yep, Teki's being a creep now (Not that he wasn't before, but still.). XP**

**Hope you enjoyed chapter 3! :)**


	4. Dying mothers

**Enjoy!**

**Dilemma: Wow, that's probably the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. XD Thank you! And I guess the reason why I don't get very many reviews is because I either write stories about characters that get very little attention (Ex. Sakamoto or Bansai), or I write OC stories (I know a lot of people don't like those kinds of stories, but you know what, I don't give a crap. LOL). I don't mind people not reviewing, though I'd be lying if I said that reviews don't make me smile. I'm not going to beg people to read and review my stories; I just let people decide if they want to read it or not. So yeah, not very many people actually care about me. XD**

* * *

**Two weeks later…**

Two weeks have passed since I last saw Bansai. I was pretty glad that I didn't see him at all during the past two weeks, because he was on my nerves last time I saw him, which was when he got his hair washed at "Hair Plus".

Although I was happy I didn't bump into him again, there was one thing that was crossing through my mind.

_Even after two weeks, I'm still shocked that Bansai's Tsu Terakado's music producer!_

You already know that Matako told me that Bansai produces Tsu's music, so I don't need to repeat myself of what happened two weeks ago.

Anyway, I woke up, and stretched my arms as I slowly got out of my bed. Today was my day off, so I didn't have to get dressed right now. Wait, I wasn't even wearing anything. What am I saying? Whenever I go to sleep, I only sleep in my underwear, because I feel more comfortable like that. And since I never want Mika to see me half-naked, then I guess I had no choice but to get dressed.

A frown appeared on my face, and I sighed as I walked over to my closet. As soon as I was in front of it, I opened it, and took out a short-sleeved periwinkle dress. It was also knee-length. Actually, _all _my dresses were knee-length (And not to mention that I only have dresses, because I rarely, if ever, wear pants or shorts).

I put it on, and then took out a pair of spandex. I also put that on, and as soon as I was done getting dressed, I walked out of my bedroom.

Another sigh escaped my lips, and I thought, _Does Mika have work today, or is it her day off?_

Mika also gets days off, but somehow, I always forget which days she has them off. I tapped my chin, and thought once more, _Let's see, Mika gets Friday's and Saturday's off…what's today?_

I speed-walked to the kitchen, and saw the calendar, which was hanging on the wall beside the fridge.

I walked in front of the calendar, and widened my eyes, realizing, _Wait, that's right! It's Saturday!_

I chuckled as I rested my hand on my forehead. How do I always forget that Mika has Friday's and Saturday's off? Maybe it's because I always wake up before her. I have Monday's and Saturdays off, and – on occasion – even Sunday's.

Just as my laughter completely died down, I heard Mika's bedroom door open. I gazed in another direction, and saw Mika walking into the kitchen as well.

She yawned as she scratched her head, "Morning, Michiru."

"Morning," I replied to my twin.

"What's today's date?"

I looked at the calendar again, and when I saw the date, I answered, "July 27th."

"Ah. I was just curious." Mika slightly smiled, and walked into the living room. She sat down on the couch, and picked up her book.

I raised a red brow, and smirked, "You're still not done with your book?"

Mika shook her head, "I hardly had any time to read."

"Because of work?"

"Yeah," Mika replied as she opened her book.

My smirk grew wider, only I asked, changing the subject, "Why don't you get dressed?"

My sister rolled her eyes, "Michiru, it's not even ten o'clock yet. I'll get dressed in about an hour, okay?"

"Fine," I chuckled, but then added, "I'm going out for a walk."

"Already?"

I nodded, "I'd rather walk in the morning than the afternoon, because in summer, afternoons are a bit hotter than mornings."

"Hm, good point. It's still summer, so that makes sense. Though, have you eaten breakfast yet?"

I admitted, "No, I haven't, but I'll eat some breakfast when I get back. Besides, I won't take long."

"Have fun, then," She muttered as she started reading her book.

Without saying anything else, I headed for the front door, and put on my slippers. As soon as they were on my feet, I rested my hand on the door handle, and exclaimed, "I'll be back soon!"

I exited out of my house, and closed the door behind me before starting my walk.

As I expected, the sky was clear, as usual. Birds were in trees, chirping (Which strangely sounded more like singing), while kids were running, exclaiming, "Let's go to the pool!"

The kids passed me, and I stared at their backs, thinking, _I remember when Mika and I were so excited about swimming. But, that was a very long time ago._

When Mika and I were kids, we used to be so obsessed with the swimming pool during the summers. Now, I'm not too crazy about them anymore. I'm not that great of a swimmer, anyway (Not that I'm terrible at it; I'm just a very slow swimmer).

I walked for about five minutes, and my hair was already starting to feel hot. I frowned at this, but realized that I've been in the sun throughout my whole walk. I sighed, and decided, _I need some shade._

Nodding at myself, I walked over to a tree, and stood under the branches, with hundreds of leaves on them. As soon as I was in the shade, I smiled, and said to no one in particular, "It's always good to have some shade."

Just then, I heard a familiar voice, interrupting my thoughts.

"Is your skin sensitive to the sun?"

My eyes widened, and I swiftly turned my head, only to see Bansai.

I frowned at his question, and answered, "No. My hair was just feeling hot."

Bansai laughed, "Are you afraid of having your hair burned off?"

I glared at the teal-haired man, and scowled as I crossed my arms, "Hell no! And my hair's never been burned off! I don't think it's _that _possible for hair to burn off!"

He laughed again, "It is, though."

I rolled my eyes, but decided to ask, "Anyway, is it true that you write songs for Tsu Terakado?"

Now it was his turn to frown. Bansai asked, "How did you know that?"

I actually expected him to deny it, but shockingly, he didn't. I replied, still having my arms crossed, "Matako told me two weeks ago, when you came to 'Hair Plus'."

"Dammit, Matako," He cursed under his breath.

I sighed, and admitted, "It was my fault, though. Matako turned on the radio, and we heard Tsu Terakado talking about her new album, with a commentary. She also talked about her music producer, who goes by the name of 'Tsunpo'. So yeah, my curiosity got the better of me. Though, is 'Tsunpo' _really_ your nickname?"

I wasn't so sure if Bansai rolled his eyes or not, but he said, "There's no point in lying, so I'm going to admit it, I daresay. Yes, 'Tsunpo' is my nickname for when I produce Otsu-Dono's music. I've never revealed my real name or showed my face to her, because I don't think there's any need to reveal your identity to a pop-singer. If I did reveal my identity, then I would've had paparazzi following me, and wanting to take pictures of me."

"That makes sense," I murmured, raising a brow at the man.

_No wonder he uses the nickname "Tsunpo". _

I continued, "Anyway, on the radio, we also heard part of the commentary from her new album, where she said that you purposefully 'butchered' it. You don't want Tsu Terakado to hear your actual voice, do you?"

He shook his head, but knitted his teal brows as he replied, "If I used my actual voice, people would recognize my voice in the streets, and they would ask me, 'Aren't you the man who produces Otsu-San's music?'."

"Hm," I hummed as I slowly uncrossed my arms.

For some reason, Bansai started walking towards me. No, it didn't look like he was about to pass me; he was literally walking towards me. Oh, dear. Is he angry at me for finding out about his "music producing secrets"?

The second he stood in front of me, he grabbed the front of my dress, and pulled me to the point where our noses barely touched. Well, this was something I did _not_ expect.

Widening my eyes at the man, Bansai muttered a bit angrily, "Don't you tell _anyone _that I'm Otsu-Dono's music producer. And you're right; it is your fault, because your curiosity got the best of you."

I frowned at his tone, and replied, "Calm down, Kawakami-San. I'm not going to tell anyone, anyway. It was obvious enough that you didn't want to reveal yourself when that pop-singer said you 'butchered' your voice in the CD commentary."

He sighed as he backed away from me, "I guess I overreacted a bit, I daresay. But it's still your fault, since your curiosity got the better of you."

I rolled my eyes, and added, "Actually, it's also Matako-San's fault, because she said that she knew who 'Tsunpo' was. And 'Tsunpo' is _you_."

Bansai sighed again, only he sounded a bit more aggravated than before, "I can't believe she blurted that out to you." He took a few steps away from me, and added, "Anyway, I need to get going. I'm seeing my mom today, and since she's a few miles out of this town, I have to take the bus."

I raised a brow, but sighed back, "Okay, then. I need to get going, too. Bye." I gave him a brief wave before leaving the shade from the big tree, and headed straight for home. I think my walk's been long enough.

Moments later, I came back home, and thought, _I better eat some breakfast now._

As soon as I took off my slippers, I heard Mika ask me, "Did you enjoy your walk?"

I nodded, "I did." I decided to not tell Mika that I ran into Bansai. Don't ask why; I just didn't feel like telling her.

It seemed that Mika got dressed already, because she was already wearing a short-sleeved green shirt, and jean shorts.

I smirked at her appearance, and teased her by saying, "I thought you told me you weren't going to get dressed until an hour later."

Mika rolled her blue eyes at me, and replied, "I was feeling hot in my pajamas, so I decided to change into more…_comfortable _clothes."

"I see." I walked passed my twin sister, and added, "I'm going to eat some breakfast now."

"Good idea," Mika chuckled.

**-3****rd**** POV-**

Bansai stood by the bus stop, waiting for the bus to arrive. He was still angry at Michiru – and Matako – for finding out that he was Tsu Terakado's music producer, but he eventually calmed down.

He was the only person at the bus stop, but he didn't mind that. He needed some peace and quiet, anyway.

Moments later, the bus finally arrived, and as soon as the bus stopped, the doors opened, and Bansai stepped inside. He put his hand in his pocket, and pulled out some change, where he put it in the coin bin.

The bus driver thanked him, and Bansai walked through the bus. There weren't very many people in the bus, probably because it was still morning.

Bansai sat down, and set his guitar – which was in the guitar case, of course – on the chair beside him.

A sigh escaped the man's lips as he looked out the window. He thought, thinking about his mother, _I hope mom's doing alright._

His mother actually had lung cancer, due to smoking too many cigarettes' throughout her life. She had been smoking since Bansai was a child, and Bansai kept telling her to stop smoking, but she was always too stubborn to do so. Because of this, she was forced to go to the hospital. Actually, she had been in the hospital for nearly a year, because her cancer was getting _very _serious.

Bansai rested the top of his head on the window, and thought again, _Her cancer's getting worse, I daresay._

**35 minutes later…**

After over a half an hour of sitting, Bansai stood up, and soon, the bus stopped. The bus driver announced, "Anyone who's getting off on this stop should get off now!"

Bansai immediately walked to the bus doors, carrying his guitar, and in a matter of seconds, he exited out. Only two other people came out, but he ignored them as the bus doors closed.

The town he was now in was only about 20 miles away from the town he lived in, which was why he had to take the bus. He could drive, mind you, but he didn't have a car of his own.

Bansai took a deep breath, and started walking to the hospital his mother was in. There were two hospitals in this town, but Bansai was told which hospital his mother was actually in. At least he wouldn't have to get lost.

He walked for about 20 minutes before reaching the hospital, which was named, 'Senjushi Hospital'. The words were bold, and they were on a sign just above the hospital.

Bansai entered, and he walked towards the counter, where a nurse was looking at a piece of paper.

When she noticed the teal-haired man, she set the paper down, and asked him with a smile, "Hello! Are you here to see someone?"

The man nodded, and answered, "Yes. I would like to see Reiko Kawakami."

The nurse nodded, and looked at the list of patients on the clipboard. She tapped her chin for a few seconds before replying, "She is in room 204. Would you like me to show you the way?"

Bansai shook his head, "No, thank you."

Once again, the nurse nodded.

With that, Bansai started walking through the hallway. The reason why he didn't want the nurse to show him the way was because he's been in this hospital before. The last time he came here was nearly five months ago.

Since room 204 was on the second floor, Bansai didn't need to take the elevator. He walked on the staircase, and thought, _Mom definitely needs some company._

A few moments later, he was on the second floor, and almost immediately, he spotted the number '204'.

For some reason, his heart started to beat fast. He wasn't nervous about seeing his mother, but sweat was starting to form in his palms. He frowned at the sweat, and muttered under his breath, "Why am I sweating all of a sudden?"

Shrugging his shoulders, he stepped in front of the door, and turned the handle, opening it. As soon as the door was all the way open, he saw his mother, who was lying down, reading a magazine.

Bansai spoke up, "Hello, mom."

His mother, named Reiko Kawakami, had chin-length teal hair, and green eyes. Her hair was a bit darker than Bansai's.

Reiko gazed up at her son, and gave him a warm smile as she closed her magazine, and set it on the counter beside her.

She sat up, and greeted, "Hello, Bansai. How're you doing?"

"Fine, perhaps," Bansai replied, shrugging his shoulders once again as he sat on a chair.

"Perhaps?" Reiko questioned as she raised a brow.

"I've had better days, I daresay."

Although that didn't make much sense, Reiko chuckled, and replied, "Anyway, I'm glad you were able to visit me today. I've been feeling so lonely lately."

"I figured," Bansai sighed. "The last time I visited you was five months ago, so that makes sense."

Reiko smiled, and changed the subject by asking, "How's your job going?"

"It's going well, I daresay." So far, the only people that knew about Bansai's career as a music producer were his mom, Matako…and now Michiru.

Reiko slightly raised a teal brow, and asked curiously, "Has your identity been revealed to that pop singer?"

That's when Bansai chuckled, "No, mom. My identity has not been revealed to Otsu-Dono. You know that I have no plans on revealing my identity to her."

Reiko smirked, "I know. I just had a feeling that you've been 'exposed' to her."

Bansai rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses, and said, "Sometimes you worry too much, I daresay."

The woman frowned, "Can't I worry about my son?"

"Of course you can, I daresay. It's just that sometimes you worry about me over the smallest things," Bansai retorted as he set his guitar on the ground.

Now it was Reiko's turn to roll her eyes. "I don't _always_ worry about you over the smallest things."

Bansai laughed, but decided to change the subject as well, "Anyway, how're you feeling?"

Reiko responded as she gripped on the blanket, "Not so well."

Bansai frowned, and asked, sounding a bit worried, "Have you been coughing?"

Reiko admitted, "Yes, but thankfully, not as much as the last time you visited."

The teal-haired man sighed with relief, but Reiko asked, "Bansai, why don't you take off those silly sunglasses? You look much better without them."

Once again, Bansai frowned, but he replied, "I like these sunglasses, because I don't really like the way my eyes look."

"Oh, please," Reiko snorted in amusement. "When was the last time you saw your own eyes in the mirror?"

Bansai paused, and when he didn't answer, Reiko chuckled, "Exactly. Do you even remember what your eyes look like?"

"Not really, I daresay," He admitted. "It's been quite a while since I last saw my eyes."

"Then why did you say you didn't like how they looked, when you don't remember what they look like?"

"Because I told myself that."

Reiko laughed a little louder than before. She was starting to laugh so hard, that she began to cough.

Bansai widened his eyes, and quickly stood up from the chair as he exclaimed, "Are you alright, mom?!"

Reiko covered her mouth with both her hands, and coughed out, "Y-Yes, I-I'm fine, son."

Even when she said that, Reiko continued to cough. She shut her eyes tightly, and tears formed in her eyes as her cough was getting worse.

Bansai saw blood coming out of her mouth, and the blood started dripping on the blanket. Bansai gasped, and exclaimed again, "You're _not_ fine! I'm going to get a nurse!" Before his mother could reply, Bansai dashed out of the room, now looking for a nurse.

Bansai ran through the hallway as he thought, _Dammit! Where's a nurse when my mother needs one?!_

He managed to find a nurse, but he dashed towards her without a second thought. When the nurse noticed him, she widened her eyes, and gasped as soon as Bansai forced himself to stop.

Pants escaped Bansai's lips, but he managed to inform the nurse, "My mother needs help…she's coughing violently…"

The nurse gasped again, only it was quieter. She nodded at the man, and they both ran back to the room.

As soon as they entered room 204, Reiko panted heavily as she stared at the blood. Reiko's body shook, but the nurse ran by her side, and asked, "Kawakami-San, are you alright?"

Reiko responded in a weak tone, "I-I thought I was…but I guess I'm n-not."

"I'll get you some medicine. Sir, I would like you to wait outside for a moment," The nurse ordered Bansai.

Bansai wondered why the nurse told him to wait outside, but he nodded slowly, and exited the room. The second he was out, the nurse closed the door behind him. Bansai leaned his back on the wall, patiently waiting for the nurse to come out, and let him back into the room.

Minutes have slowly passed, and the door was still closed. Bansai knitted his brows, and thought, _What's taking the nurse so long? She should've given my mother the medicine by now._

Bansai frowned, and crossed his arms as the door _finally_ opened up. Bansai was about to ask what took the nurse so long, but the nurse smiled at him, and said, "Sorry about that. Your mother's fine now." Although she said "fine", Bansai knew that his mother wasn't fine, because she still had lung cancer. The nurse gave him a half-suspicious expression, and added, "Is it okay if I ask what made her cough so violently?"

The teal-haired man sighed almost inaudibly, "She was laughing a bit hard, I daresay."

"I see," The nurse replied as she gave him a small frown. "Try not to make her laugh; otherwise she'll cough again."

"Understood," Bansai nodded.

He walked back into the room, and saw Reiko lying down again. This time, she covered her whole body with the blanket. Bansai was slightly surprised when he saw that the blood was gone, but he quickly realized, _The nurse must've changed them. That must be why she took so long._

Reiko smiled, "I'm okay now, son."

Bansai smiled back, only it was smaller than his mothers'. Bansai sat in his seat, and crossed his legs as he said, "Apparently, laughing hard will cause you to cough badly."

"I realized that," Reiko sighed. "Bansai, I think visitor hours are almost over."

"Huh?" He questioned with a raised brow. Bansai turned his head around, and saw a paper hanging on the wall, which said, 'Visitor hours'. Today was Saturday, so Bansai checked the time sheet on the paper, and it said that visitor hours were from nine in the morning to eleven in the morning. And since it was almost 11 o'clock, Bansai frowned, feeling disappointed that his visit was cut short.

Bansai sighed as he walked towards her bed, "You're right. Guess I should get going before a nurse comes in, and tells me to leave." A soft chuckle escaped his lips, but he was still disappointed.

He grabbed the strap to his guitar case, and pulled it up. He rested the strap on his shoulder, and gave out yet another sigh.

He said as he kissed his mothers' forehead, "Bye, mom." He would've added 'Get better soon', but he just remembered that lung cancer could not be cured.

"Bye, sweetie," Reiko replied, ruffling his teal hair.

Bansai smiled at his mother before leaving the room once again. This time, he was actually leaving the hospital.

He walked down the staircase, and just as he was about to head out of the hospital, the same nurse at the counter asked, "Did Kawakami-San enjoy your visit?"

Bansai nodded, "Yes."

"Good. Have a nice day!"

The man left without replying to the nurse. He gripped on his guitar case strap, and clenched his teeth slightly as he thought, _I hate to admit it, but her coughs kind of scared me there, I daresay._

Bansai sighed for the umpteenth time, and decided to walk around town, since the next bus wouldn't come for a few hours.

While he was walking, he thought off-topically, _I still can't believe Matako-San told Michiru that I produce Otsu-Dono's music. Then again, it's mostly Michiru's fault._

Bansai sat down on a bench, and decided to write down some lyrics for Tsu's new songs. He placed the guitar beside him, and unzipped the case before pulling a piece of paper out of it. Yes, paper was even in the guitar case. Apparently, Bansai's too addicted to writing lyrics.

Anyway, he also pulled out his mechanical pencil from the case. As soon as the paper and pencil were out, he set the guitar (Which was still in the case, by the way) on his lap, and placed the paper on top of it. He held his mechanical pencil, and started writing on the paper.

He turned up the volume in his headphones, and began to listen to – you guessed it – Tsu Terakado's music. He bounced his head in rhythm as he wrote a couple of words onto the paper.

So far, he wrote down, 'You should always respect your mothers; otherwise your ass will get spanked by a wooden spoon'.

Bansai tapped the eraser part of his pencil on his chin, and then added, 'You should always massage your mothers' feet, because it will also show that you respect her'.

Apparently, the "mother" he was referring to was _his_ sick mother, though he'd never massaged his mom's feet. That wasn't the point here.

Bansai continued to write down, 'When you get on your moms' bad side, you should be prepared for the worst. She might get all sadistic, and whip you up until your whole body is covered in scars'.

For the truth, Bansai barely paid attention to the lyrics he was writing. He was thinking so much about his mother, that he accidentally wrote down, 'I'm most likely going to scold Matako for telling Michiru about my career'.

He blinked behind his sunglasses, and stared at the words as a frown appeared on his face. He thought as he erased the words, _What does that have to do with anything? Sure, I'm still angry at Matako and Michiru, but this has NOTHING to do with my mother having lung cancer._

As soon as he erased the words he wrote on accident, Bansai sighed, and said to no one in particular, "I can't believe I wrote that, I daresay."

He paid more attention this time, and wrote down, 'Your mother can be a bitch at times. Try to think twice before insulting her'.

Bansai ran his fingers through his teal hair, and after a few minutes of writing lyrics, he decided to stop for now. He folded the piece of paper, and put it – plus the mechanical pencil – back into his guitar case. As soon as the objects were in there, he zipped up the case, and stood up from the bench, holding the strap onto his shoulder again.

Suddenly, he saw a bus driving this way, and he raised his brows in slight surprise. He thought, _I thought the bus wasn't supposed to come until later. Then again, this could be a bus heading for a different town._

He looked at the "sign" on top of the bus, and he saw that it was heading to the town he lived in. Bansai widened his eyes, and ran across the street as he thought again, _Guess I was wrong, I daresay._

Bansai managed to reach the bus stop before the bus arrived. He panted in exhaustion, but was pretty glad he didn't miss the bus.

The bus stopped, and the doors opened. A few people walked out, and Bansai waited patiently before it was time for him to hop into the bus (Since no more people walked out).

Just like last time, he pulled out some change from his pocket, and put it in the coin bin. The bus driver nodded at him, and as soon as Bansai sat down, the bus driver announced, "Next stop: Hinode!"

Bansai sighed with relief, and thought, _That was close. I nearly missed the bus._

With that, the bus driver started driving.

Bansai rested his cheek in his palm, and gazed at the sky as he wondered, _I wonder how much longer mom will live._

He narrowed his eyes, and started to stare off into space. Although he was listening to music, he hardly paid any attention to it.

Instead, he added in thought, _Mom's song was really depressing, I daresay._

**-Michiru's POV-**

It was almost noon, and while Mika and I were eating lunch, my phone suddenly started to ring.

I raised a red brow, and thought, _I wonder who's calling me._

Mika raised a brow, only she stayed silent, because her mouth was full. My mouth, on the other hand, was empty.

I grabbed my phone, and flipped it open. The person who was calling me was Matako. Raising a brow yet again, I pressed the "send" button, and lifted my phone next to my ear.

I said, "Hello?"

Matako replied through the phone, "Hey, Michiru-San! I was just calling to see if you wanted to go to the movies with me!"

My eyes widened in surprise, because Matako actually sounded cheerful. Sure, we're friends, but she's never this cheerful.

I smirked, and asked the blonde, "Heh, why're you so cheerful all of a sudden? Are you that excited about seeing a movie?"

"Well, yes, but you still haven't answered my question, Michiru-San."

I rolled my eyes, but answered her question, "Sure, I'll go to the movies with you. Though…can Mika come, too?"

"Sure she can," Matako chuckled. Apparently, her cheerful tone died out. Matako added, "Anyway, the movie we're going to see is an action-romance one. The movie's going to start at about 12:30, so I suggest you, and your sister, get ready soon."

"Okay. I'll see you there." With that, I hung up my phone.

Mika gulped the food down her throat, and asked, "Was that Matako? I heard her voice."

I nodded, "Yep, it was her. She asked me if I wanted to go to the movies with her, and I said 'yes'. But I also asked her if I could bring you, and she said I could."

Mika raised her brows as she asked, "What movie is it going to be?"

I grinned, "She told me it's an action-romance one."

"Oh," Mika groaned.

I rolled my eyes at my sister, and replied, "Mika, I know you're not a fan of romance, but you should spend time with us. Hell, you've rarely spent time with Matako since she and I became friends."

Mika bit her lower lip, and averted her gaze away from me. After a few seconds of contemplating, she looked at me again, and slowly nodded, "Alright, I'll go with you and Matako-San."

I smiled, "Good."

Moments later, we finished our lunch, and we put our dishes in the sink. Mika was about to wash the dishes, but I told her, "We can take care of the dishes when we get back."

Mika slightly frowned, but nodded, and walked towards me. The two of us headed to the door, but I realized, _I forgot to tell Matako-San that I told Bansai I found out about his career. Oh well, I can tell her that when we arrive at the movies._

Shrugging my shoulders, I grabbed my purple purse, and put on my slippers as Mika put on her flip-flops.

I asked her, "Ready to go?"

Mika briefly nodded, "Yep."

Another smile crept up my face, and we left the house, now heading for the movies.

* * *

**I wanted to write most of the chapter about Bansai seeing his mom. And I wasn't originally going to mention where Bansai lived (Along with Michiru, Mika, and Matako), but since bus drivers usually announce where buses head to next (I think...), I had no choice. XD But now you know where they live! And in case you didn't know, Hinode is in the Tokyo Prefecture, or Tokyo Metropolis (So yeah, it's by the actual city of Tokyo, I think).**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed chapter 4! :)**


	5. Movies and regrets

**Enjoy!**

**Sisi427: (Chapter 2): It's okay. I don't expect you to review right away. Yes, Michiru's last crush was terrible (He did deserve that punch. XD). At least she won't see him ever again. Anyway, you're right; Michiru does have a temper. LOL Yep, Bansai's awesome, even though he doesn't get much attention! :D Apparently, I'm more into supporting characters than main characters. LOL ****(Chapter 3): I didn't know what I was thinking when I wrote that part (I'm such a weirdo.). XD As for the names of people who work at "Hair Plus"; while I was trying to think which female characters would be appropriate enough to work there, I actually didn't pay much attention to the first letter of their first names (Since, you know, Michiru, Matako, and Mutsu's name all start with "M"). Funny, huh? That wasn't on purpose, but "Triple M's" would be hilarious. Haha. Yeah, Teki is a creep. *Shudder* Let's hope he won't try to do anything stupid with Michiru. (Chapter 4): Well, lung cancer can't be cured, so it's very unlikely that Bansai's mom will live much longer (I wasn't so sure if you really wanted me to tell you). :( I'll try to keep up the good work, and I'll make sure I don't disappoint you! :)**

* * *

While Mika and I were heading towards the movie theater, I thought, _I wonder what the movie is called. All Matako-San said was that it's an action-romance movie._

I shrugged my shoulders, and all of a sudden, Mika tapped me on the shoulder. I blinked my dark-blue eyes, and gazed in my twin sisters' direction as she asked me, "Are you okay, Michiru? You were staring off into space for a second."

I waved my hand up and down, and replied with a small smile, "Sorry, Mika. I was just…"

I trailed off, but Mika finished my sentence for me, "Thinking?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

She sighed, "What is it that you're thinking about?"

"The movie. Matako-San never said the title of the movie."

Mika furrowed a brow, and asked, "So does that mean we won't know what the title is until we get to the theater?"

"Pretty much," I shrugged, narrowing my eyes.

Mika rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything else.

Moments later, we arrived at the movie theater, and I opened up my phone, checking the time in case we were late.

The time was 12:24, so we weren't late, though it was obvious enough that the movie would start _very _soon.

We saw Matako standing by the theater, and as soon as she noticed us, she gave us a smile, and said, "You two finally came."

I rolled my eyes, but smiled back, "Of course we came, Matako-San. We managed to get here before the movie started, right? And speaking of movie, what's the title of the movie you mentioned on the phone?"

"Ah, yes. Sorry I didn't tell you on the phone. I forgot to tell you that, because I was feeling excited about seeing the movie, apparently. But anyway, the title of the movie is 'Ninja's and Nurses'."

Mika and I raised brows at her, and I smirked, "'Ninja's and Nurses'? The title sounds pretty cheesy. But it also sounds hilarious at the same time." A laugh escaped my lips, and Mika laughed along.

Matako smirked as well, "I agree that the title's pretty cheesy, but I'm still interested into seeing it. And don't worry, I paid for the tickets."

I nodded, "Thank you, Matako-San. Do you want me to pay you back, for the tickets you bought for us, when the movie's done?"

"That's very kind of you, Michiru-San, but you don't have to do that. I asked you if you wanted to see a movie with me, anyway." Matako checked on her phone, and widened her eyes. She added, "We need to get in before the movie starts!"

Mika and I nodded, and the three of us went into the movie theater. I told Mika and Matako, "We should turn off our phones."

"Oh, right," Mika said, and turned off her phone. Matako did the same thing.

Since the thought of me seeing Bansai again suddenly popped into my head, I decided to tell Matako, "Oh, Matako-San. I was on a walk this morning, and guess who I ran into?"

Matako raised a blonde brow, and although it looked like she knew who I was talking about, she asked, "Who?"

"Bansai," I rolled my eyes.

Matako sighed as we entered the theater (Where they would play "Ninja's and Nurses"), "Can't say I'm surprised."

I whispered, making sure no one else would hear me, "I told him that I found out about his music career."

"Hm, how did he react to _that_?" Matako whispered back.

"Well, he was pretty angry, and he told me to not tell anyone else about his career. I told him that he wouldn't, and it turned out that he was overreacting."

"I wouldn't exactly blame him, though. He doesn't want to reveal his identity to that pop star, nor does he want to reveal his identity to her fans. He would rather have it _private_."

"He told me that," I snorted in amusement. "But anyway, right when I was about to walk away from him, he said that he was visiting his mother."

I shrugged, but Matako raised her brows at me. It seemed that she was surprised, because her eyes were also widened.

Blinking at the blonde, I asked, arching my brow, "What is it?"

Matako bit her lower lip, and for some reason, she had a worried look on her face. I frowned at her expression, and repeated, "What? Is something wrong?"

Matako answered, but she whispered so quietly, that I couldn't hear her. My frown deepened, and I told her, "I can't hear you."

Her face got closer to me, and when she was close enough, she leaned her lips against my ear, and whispered, making sure I heard her loud (Well, not really loud, but you get the picture) and clear, "I know this is sudden, but Bansai-Senpai's mother has lung cancer."

That's when my eyes widened in shock. My lips parted, and as we all sat down, I stared at Matako as if she was crazy. But, she looked too serious to be crazy.

I basically repeated her words, "L-Lung cancer…?"

She nodded as she narrowed her eyes, "Sadly, yes. Bansai-Senpai's mother got cancer over a year ago. Because of that, she was forced to go to the hospital. So I'm fairly certain that he wanted to see his mother, because he wanted to see how she was doing."

Now it was my turn to narrow my eyes. For some weird reason, I felt a bit of guilt in me. I was probably feeling a bit guilty, because I was rude to him…twice. Guess I shouldn't be rude to him from now on, because he must've been going through hard times, since his mother has lung cancer. Although Matako didn't say it, I was pretty sure his mother got lung cancer by smoking lots of cigarettes.

I furrowed my brows, and said, "Wow…that's terrible."

Matako agreed, "It _is _terrible."

"Maybe I shouldn't be rude to him whenever I see him…"

"Hm?" Both Matako and Mika hummed, raising their brows at me.

My cheeks started to burn (What the fuck?! I'm not flushing in embarrassment, am I?!), and I replied, "I feel bad for being rude to him, because his mother has lung cancer. I feel like he's been going through hard times, and me being rude to him doesn't make it any better."

Okay, now I was fairly certain that I was flushing in embarrassment. Dammit! I hate embarrassing myself! Curse you "embarrassment emotion"! You're making me feel miserable now! Wait, why am I talking to my emotions now?! I'm not mentally retarded!

Matako smirked, "Hm, perhaps it is better if you stop being rude to him. Michiru-San, maybe you two can get along."

My flush of embarrassment was still on my face, but I glared at the blonde, and half-scowled, "As if! He still irritates me, because he keeps talking about 'tunes' or 'songs' or whatever!"

"Didn't he tell you the meaning of that, though?"

"Yeah, but he still pisses me off…sort of…" I grumbled under my breath.

Matako chuckled, "Sort of?"

"Shut up," I grumbled again, but noticed that the movie was about to start.

Mika shushed us, "The movie's about to start!"

Matako and I immediately fell silent, and as the movie started to play, I thought, _But even when I'm not going to be rude to Bansai, if he confuses me again, I'll get angry with him._

**-3****rd**** POV-**

Bansai returned home, and as soon as he entered his apartment, he took off his shoes, and walked through the living room. He didn't feel like watching T.V., or feel like eating lunch, so he decided to go to his room.

He entered his bedroom, and closed the door behind him. Bansai gave out a sigh, and thought, _I'm going to write more lyrics for Otsu-Dono._

It was actually his day off, but Bansai still wanted to write lyrics. Apparently, the only plans he ever has, when it comes to having days off, is writing bad/sexual/offensive lyrics. Ugh, can't he think of something _better_ to do, like going on a date with his girlfriend? Oh, wait a minute, he doesn't have a girlfriend. Whoops. Not that Bansai never wanted a girlfriend; he just never had the time to get one. Then again, there was no need to hurry. Besides, most people in town thought he was a weird guy.

Anyway, he set his guitar on the bed, and unzipped the case, where he took out the actual guitar. He also pulled out the piece of paper, and mechanical pencil, and set it on his bed as well.

Since there was plenty of room on the paper, Bansai decided to write the lyrics on it, that way it wouldn't look like he was wasting any paper.

The first thing he wrote on the paper was, 'When your mother gets drunk, make sure you a bat, that way you can hit her on the head in case she tries to attack you'.

Yeah, he was still writing lyrics about mothers'. Wait, was he going to write a _song_ about mothers' being bitches? Apparently so.

The teal-haired man continued to write, 'This is why mothers' should never drink ten bottles of beer in one night'.

All of a sudden, he started having a flashback of when his mother began smoking, back when he was a child.

_(Bansai's Flashback)_

_Bansai was almost seven when his mother started smoking. When Reiko started to smoke, Bansai was, not surprisingly, disgusted by it. Even as a child, he despised cigarettes, and people who smoke too many of them._

_Bansai put on his headphones, and before you ask, he didn't have any sunglasses back then. _

_Anyway, Bansai grabbed his backpack, and exclaimed, "Mom! I'm ready to go!"_

"_I'm coming, I'm coming," Reiko replied as she walked out of her room._

_When Bansai saw that she was smoking a cigarette, he frowned, scrunching up his face. Reiko frowned back, only she asked in confusion, "What?"_

_Bansai pointed at her cigarette, and asked back, feeling disgusted, "Why're you smoking? It's bad for your health."_

_Reiko rolled her eyes, "If your bastard father didn't cheat on me, and left us, maybe I wouldn't have started smoking. Besides, what do you know about cigarettes?"_

"_We had a class talking about cigarettes and health."_

_Reiko frowned, but clicked her tongue in defeat as she replied, "Whatever. Are you ready to go?"_

"_Yeah," Bansai mumbled as he glared at his mother, who – without a second thought – blew some smoke into his face. Bansai snapped his eyes wide, and he almost immediately covered his nose and mouth. He shut his eyes tightly as he coughed._

_Reiko questioned with a raised brow, "Oh dear, did I blow smoke in your face?"_

"_What do you think?!" Bansai snapped, causing his mother to flinch._

_Reiko frowned once again, only this time, she wasn't happy at Bansai for using that tone. She told him, "You don't need to yell, son. I'll try not to blow anymore smoke in your face."_

_Bansai grumbled inaudible words, but Reiko rolled her green eyes, and headed for the front door. Bansai followed her, and decided to turn up the volume in his headphones. His mother sounded a bit hoarse, after all, due to her apparent addiction to smoking._

_Both Bansai and Reiko put their shoes on, and they headed out the door as Reiko put the cigarette between her lips. Bansai still gave the cigarette a disgusted look as he thought, _Why can't mom realize that cigarettes are evil?

_Reiko finished smoking her cigarette, and she tossed it on the ground, where she crushed the cigarette with the sole of her shoe. Bansai was about to sigh with relief, but Reiko pulled a box of cigarettes, and took a cancer stick out before putting the box back into her pants pocket. Bansai glared at her once again, but didn't say anything this time._

_They both got in the car, and as Reiko lit up the second cigarette, Bansai asked, trying not to be rude this time, "Can you at least open up the windows?"_

"_I was going to do that," His mother muttered as she gave him a stern look. She pressed down the "window-rolling" button, where the passenger windows rolled down._

_Bansai sighed with slight relief, but still wished that Reiko didn't smoke. Even when his father left them, leaving only Reiko to take care of Bansai, he still didn't want his irritated mother to smoke. But since his mother was being stubborn, Bansai realized that it would be pointless to try to convince her to stop._

_As Reiko held onto the cigarette with her lips, she put the key into the ignition. Soon, they drove away._

_Bansai rested his cheek in his palm, and thought, _Will there ever be a time where mom gets sick of smoking?

_(End of Bansai's Flashback)_

After his memory, Bansai stopped writing, and lightly bit his lower lip. He knitted his brows, and decided, "I'm going to stop writing lyrics about mothers, I daresay."

With that, he put the paper and mechanical pencil on his nightstand. He also put his guitar on the floor.

Bansai took off his jacket, and he tossed onto a chair, which was in the corner of his room. As soon as that was taken care of, Bansai lied down on his bed, and landed his hands on the back of his head.

An almost inaudible sigh escaped his lips, and he stared at the ceiling through his dark sunglasses as he thought, _Mom never quit smoking until she got lung cancer, I daresay. If my bastard father didn't cheat on her, and leave us, then maybe none of this would have happened._

Before Reiko decided to smoke, Bansai's father cheated on her – for some unknown reason – and decided to leave them. Yeah, Bansai's father was a real douchebag. Anyway, after his father left them, Reiko became so frustrated, that she went to one of her friends, and asked what she could do to make herself feel better. Her friend stupidly told her that smoking would calm her down, and shockingly, Reiko fell for it (Not that her friend was tricking her; her friend was just being idiotic at the time). Bansai hadn't seen his father since then, and for the truth, he would rather _never _see him again.

If Bansai was going to have girlfriend (If he would ever get one, that is), he would make sure that she would never cheat on him; he would also make sure that he wouldn't be used as a tool. For Bansai, in order to trust others, he would have to listen to their song _carefully_, and if the song doesn't have any "scratches", or misused tunes, then he could trust them. It may not make much sense, but hey, it's Bansai.

Anyway, Bansai turned his body to the side, and thought, thinking about his mother again, _I'm extremely sure mom regrets smoking, I daresay. If she never smoked, then she still would've been healthy, and I wouldn't have to see her suffer through this. It pained me when I saw her coughing blood._

The picture in his head – where Reiko was coughing blood – made Bansai's spine shiver. Goosebumps formed on his skin, and without thinking, he began to claw on his skin, as if the goosebumps would go away. They didn't, obviously.

Bansai clenched his teeth tightly, and angrily thought as he shut his eyes, _Just how much longer is my mother going to live?! Will she die before I visit her again?! And even if I do visit her again before she dies, would her coughs get worse?!_

Too many questions were roaming into Bansai's head. When they started to "echo" into his skull, he gripped his hair with both his hands, and closed his eyes tighter than before. His eyelids were shut so tight; they were starting to hurt.

Bansai eventually let go of his hair, but he was still angry at his mother for smoking in the first place. Almost two decades of smoking non-stop…just what the fuck was Reiko thinking?

But no matter how angry he was at his mom, Bansai would still love her. Even when it was her own fault for smoking one too many cigarettes, Bansai still loved her, because Reiko did her best to raise him on her own. Bansai wished he could make her cancer go away; unfortunately, cancer _cannot_ be cured, no matter how much treatment you get. Even when doctors told their patients that they were going to be okay, it still wouldn't be cured.

Life was no fairy tale. Life was _never_ a fairy tale. Fairy tales only exist in books, not reality. If fairy tales did exist in reality, then almost every innocent person would have a happy ending, including Bansai's mother. His mothers' cancer would disappear, and she would have a healthy life again.

No…that would've been _too _unrealistic. Perhaps it was better if we just stick to reality. That wasn't the point, though.

Bansai sat up, and slowly opened his eyes, narrowing them. He whispered to no one in particular, "Even when my mother dies from lung cancer, I'll still love her…"

**-Michiru's POV-**

**An hour and a half later…**

When the movie finished, the lights on the ceiling turned back on, and everyone – including me, Mika, and Matako – stood up from their seats, and started heading out of the theater.

Matako frowned, and muttered, "Well, that was quite disappointing."

I shrugged, "I thought it was fine, though I wouldn't want to watch it a second time."

Mika nodded, "Same here. The movie was kind of boring, actually."

We exited out of the theater, and Matako sighed, "Well, see you tomorrow at work, Michiru-San!"

She waved at me as she started walking away from us. I waved back, replying to the blonde, "See you tomorrow."

Mika asked as soon as Matako was out of sight, "Ready to go home?"

I nodded as I mumbled, "Yeah."

"Then let's go."

With that, we both started walking, heading for home.

Minutes have passed, and we arrived home.

Mika and I entered our house, and as soon as I closed the door behind me, we both took off our shoes, and stepped into the living room.

Mika sighed, "My legs ache all of a sudden."

I smirked, and replied to my sister jokingly, "Maybe you've been walking too much."

Mika rolled her eyes, "Oh, please, Michiru. I hardly even walked today."

"I know, I was just joking."

She stared at me blankly, but I ignored her expression, and added, "Anyway, I'm going to my room for a bit."

"What're you going to do there?" My twin sister asked in a somewhat low tone.

I shrugged, "I'm going to look through some magazines."

"You mean the ones you bought a few days ago?"

I nodded, "Yep, those ones."

She smiled, "Okay, then."

She picked up her book, and flipped through pages to see where she left off.

I went to my room, and as soon as I entered my bedroom, I closed the door, and gave out a sigh as I picked up a random magazine without even looking at it. I sat on the foot of my bed, and when I saw the magazine I picked up, I found out it was the "Trust Magazine".

"Trust Magazine" is a magazine (Obviously), where it mostly talks about trusting people. This type of magazine is mostly recommended to people who don't trust others, probably because there're too many liars in this world. To be completely honest, I don't trust very many people as well, for the same reason a lot of people – who read this magazine – have.

I hate people who lie to me, just to make me feel gullible and naïve. If they lie because the truth is too personal or embarrassing, then that's understandable.

Although I've heard about this magazine a few weeks ago, I've been interested in it, because – like I said – it tells you how you can trust others. For instance, how can I tell if a person is lying or telling the truth?

I thought as I scratched the top of my head, _Maybe I should get myself a lie-detector test. Nah, we can't afford one. Besides, are lie-detector tests even on sale?_

I snorted in amusement at the thought of that. Yeah, right. Lie-detector tests aren't even 100% accurate. Besides, the only answers you would get from the "victims" are "yes" or "no", so that's not really enough for me to trust someone in particular.

Anyway, I flipped some of the pages, and saw an article that was written out, 'Tsu Terakado's new album will contain a commentary, featuring her music producer, Tsunpo!'.

My eyes almost immediately widened at what I just read. I knew about Tsu Terakado releasing a new album, with a commentary on it, but I did _not_ expect this to be in the "Trust Magazine".

I suddenly began to remember when Matako and I heard Bansai's "butchered" voice in the commentary on the radio at "Hair Plus". The corners of my lips curved up, forming a smirk.

My smirk was stuck on my face, and just when my jaw was about to hurt, I stuffed my face into my pillow, and laughed. The reason why I did that was because I didn't want Mika to come in my room, and ask why I was laughing all of a sudden. I would have a hard time explaining to her, because right now, I was laughing so hard; my stomach was about to burst.

I punched my fists into my mattress, and continued to laugh. I also kicked my feet into the bed as water was starting to form in my eyes.

Honestly, I don't think I've laughed _this_ much in a long time. Hell, I can't even _remember_ when was the last time I've laughed this hard.

I accidentally dropped my magazine onto the floor, and although it was now on the floor, I ignored it, and my fists and feet were _still_ punching/kicking into the bed.

_Oh, god! I need to stop laughing before I have trouble breathing!_

A moment or two later, my laughter finally died down. I leaned up, and rubbed my eyes with my palms as I thought, _Wow, that's probably the hardest I've laughed in a long time._

Since my smirk was still plastered on my face, my jaw started to ache. I wanted to stop smirking, but because of the memory of hearing Bansai's freaking deep voice in the commentary, it couldn't be helped. And…now my jaw was in extreme pain. Okay, I need to stop smirking _now._

I slapped my cheeks a few times before my smirk finally vanished from my face. I sighed, and muttered under my breath, "Jeez…my jaw was killing me!"

I gazed at the floor, seeing my magazine. I reached down, and grabbed the corner of the magazine, picking it up.

I grunted, and rested the magazine on my lap. I quickly flipped the page, that way I wouldn't laugh again, just from seeing the "Tsunpo Commentary" section.

Speaking of which, I began thinking about what Matako said earlier, when we were at the movies. She told me that Bansai's mother has lung cancer, and she's been in the hospital for over a year. I couldn't believe I was saying this, but I now regret being rude to Bansai. I was rude to him the first time, because I pulled his headphones off of his ears – when we first met – and I was rude to him the second time, because I laughed at his frizzy hair, when Matako washed it. Looks like I'm going to have to apologize to Bansai the next time I see him, but that doesn't mean I won't be angry at him again. If he decides to confuse me again, then I _will_ get angry at him.

I obviously didn't know when I was going to see him again, but I was definitely going to apologize for my rudeness (Perhaps I wouldn't have been so rude if he or Matako had told me about his mother having cancer sooner). I wasn't a rude person in general, anyway.

**-3****rd**** POV-**

**At Matako's apartment**

Matako had arrived home, moments after she left the movies. She lived in an apartment, and her apartment complex was smaller than Bansai's, so it was obvious enough that she didn't live in the same apartment complex as him. In fact, she only lived a few blocks away from Bansai. They knew where one another lived; they just rarely, if ever, visited each other.

Anyway, Matako felt a bit sweaty, and she said to herself, "God, I hate sweat. Then again, who doesn't?"

She decided to take a shower, so she headed for the bathroom.

As soon as Matako entered the bathroom, she closed the door behind herself, and gave out a sigh as she thought, _Time to take a shower._

Matako took off her clothes, and when she completely undressed herself, she put her clothes in the basket. She also took off her bra and underwear, and put them in the basket as well.

Matako pulled off the hair tie from her side ponytail, letting her hair fall down. She put the hair tie beside the basket, and opened the shower door. She was about to step into the shower, when all of a sudden, her phone started to ring.

The blonde raised a brow, and took out her phone, which was in her shorts pocket. She opened up her phone, and when she saw who was calling her, she frowned.

_Why is Setsora-San calling me? It's our day off!_

Matako groaned, but answered anyway, pressing "send" on her phone. She held the phone against her ear, and asked, "Hello?"

"K-Kijima-San," Teki spoke in his usual creepy voice. "H-Hand the ph-phone to Michiru-San…"

Matako's frown deepened, and she informed him, "Setsora-San, Michiru-San's not with me."

"Wh-Why not?" Teki slurred.

Matako rested a hand on her hip, and exclaimed, "Are you drunk again?!"

"Y-Yeah…so wh-what? I can g-get drunk all I-I fucking like!"

The woman rolled her eyes, and replied, "You're lucky it's our day off; otherwise I would've called the police, and they would've arrested you for being drunk on the job!" Although Teki was Matako and Michiru's boss, she had to get those words out, because she was feeling a bit irritated.

Teki said, slurring yet again, "A-Arrest me? N-No, that c-can't be possible…I'm y-your boss, which means th-that I can n-never get f-fired!"

"Bullshit!" Matako half-snapped, feeling like she was at her limit. "Whether you're my boss or not, you would still get arrested!"

"Y-You still haven't a-answered my question from b-before!"

Once again, Matako rolled her eyes, but she answered Teki's previous question, "Michiru-San's not with me, because she's at home, and I'm at home as well. So I can't hand her my phone."

_But even if Michiru-San was with me, I wouldn't want to give the phone to her, because all Setsora-San will say is sexual stuff, since he is drunk._

"That's t-too bad! Maybe I can h-have a ch-chat with her t-tomorrow at work!" Teki exclaimed, trying to sound serious, but he failed at it, because he was drunk off his ass.

Matako growled through clenched teeth, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Wh-What do you m-mean, blondy?" He grumbled through the phone. Though it was true that Matako's hair was blonde, she _hated_ being called "blondy".

Matako responded as a vein throbbed in her forehead, "If you appear at 'Hair Plus' drunk, and try to have a 'chat' with Michiru-San, then she will slap you in the face." She would've said something much worse, but she decided to hold that off until Matako _really_ snapped.

Teki snorted like a pig, "Y-Yeah, r-right. She w-wouldn't slap me. M-Michiru-San may be a t-tough woman, but she wouldn't h-hurt a fly."

"That doesn't make any sense," Matako replied in a low tone as she clenched her fist.

"Sure it d-does!" Teki pouted. "In f-fact, she would want to grab my p-peni-"

"OKAY, THAT'S ENOUGH!" Matako shouted. "NOW IF YOU'LL EXCUSE ME, I NEED TO TAKE A SHOWER!"

She immediately regretted saying that, because since Teki was drunk, he was obviously going to make some sexual jokes about girls – or guys – taking showers, washing their hairs and bodies.

Matako covered her mouth as she could hear Teki chuckling all perverted. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment as Teki asked idiotically, "T-Taking a sh-shower, eh? Kijima-San, wh-while you're at it, c-could you take pictures of y-yourself naked, and send them t-to me? P-Pictures such as y-your boobs…and y-your p-pubic hair…"

"I DON'T EVEN HAVE PUBIC HAIR!" Matako screamed at the top of her lungs as her blood boiled in anger. "I'M HANGING UP ON YOU NOW!"

No soon after she said that, she hung up, and turned off her phone, in case Teki would try to call again. Matako grumbled inaudible words, and walked into the shower.

She turned on the shower, and closed her eyes as soon as the shower water started dripping on her hair and body.

Matako crouched down, and picked up the shampoo bottle. She stood back up, and squeezed some shampoo out. She began to scrub the shampoo in her long hair, and as she shut her eyes tightly – trying to prevent from getting water or shampoo in her eyes – she thought with anger, _Fucking Setsora-San…he chose the wrong time to call me!_

Matako didn't realize it, but she started to scrub a little _too_ hard. She accidentally scratched her scalp multiple times, and when she actually paid attention, she gasped, and let go of her hair.

She wasn't bleeding, thankfully, but her scratches did hurt herself. Way to go, Matako. Pay more attention, next time.

The blonde sighed, and thought, _Perhaps I'm just angry. I don't want Setsora-San doing anything creepy to Michiru-San, after all._

Matako may not have been the nicest person ever, but Michiru was her friend, and she would _never_ let anyone do creepy things to her, not even Teki, because he sounded creepy enough on the phone. Then again, Teki has also been creepy at work.

Why did he need to talk to Michiru, anyway? Was she his lust interest or something? Oh god, even the thought of that made Matako's spine shiver. Teki never told them his age, but from the look of it, he was probably almost in his 30's. But it didn't matter how old he was. He was still creepy as fuck.

Matako finished her shower in a matter of minutes, and she grabbed a towel, wrapping it around her chest.

She got out of the shower stall, and picked up her hair-dryer, where she started to dry her hair (What else would she use her hair-dryer for?).

After making sure that her hair was dried completely, she turned off the hair-dryer, and unplugged it, wrapping the cord around the handle of the hair-dryer. As soon as she was done, she put it in one of the drawers.

A sigh escaped the blonde's lips, and Matako ran her fingers through her hair as she thought, _I HAVE to make sure Setsora-San doesn't do anything perverted to Michiru-San._

* * *

**Okay, I know the last part of this chapter was a little uncalled for, but...Teki was drunk, so yeah. XP**

**Michiru's going to have to apologize to poor Bansai for being rude to him. Then again, how would she know if he's been going through hard times if Matako didn't tell her about his mom's cancer? Still, Michiru regrets being rude to him. :P**

**Hope you enjoyed chapter 5! :)**


	6. Apologizes

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**-Michiru's POV-**

**The next day…**

I put on my slippers as soon as I was at the front door, and Mika asked, "Are you going to try to find this Bansai guy before you go to work?"

I shook my head, and responded as I looked at her from the corner of my eye, "I don't have time to do that. I'll look for him on my way home, though."

Mika nodded, "Are you _really_ going to apologize to him when you see him again?" For some reason, Mika sounded a bit skeptical about me apologizing to Bansai.

I turned my head around, and frowned at her, "If I find him today, then yes. Why're you sounding skeptical all of a sudden?"

Mika sighed, "I didn't mean to sound skeptical, Michiru. It's just that you don't sound like you want to apologize to him, because you apparently hate him."

My eyes widened, and I exclaimed without thinking, "I don't hate him! I mean, sure, he irritated me a few times, but that doesn't mean I hate that man!"

My twin sister widened her eyes in slight surprise. The corners of her lips curved up, forming a smirk on her face. Just as my cheeks were starting to flush in embarrassment, Mika asked, "You don't hate him? So does that mean you and that guy can get along after all?"

I regretted exclaiming like that, but – shockingly – at the same time, I didn't. I glared at my sister, and replied as I crossed my arms, "Maybe, maybe not. But I'd like it if you didn't talk about that."

"Talk about what?" Mika snickered, probably teasing me.

A vein throbbed in my neck, and I yelled, "ME GETTING ALONG WITH THAT WEIRD GUY!"

Mika turned around, and asked off-topically, "Aren't you supposed to be heading for work or something?"

I rolled my eyes, but calmed down, and grumbled, "I'm heading out."

"Bye."

With that, I headed out. I closed the door behind me, and began my walk to work, since I had no time to look for Bansai now. As I said, I was going to look for him after work.

_Why did Mika have to tease me like that?! She was getting on my nerves!_

Minutes later, I arrived at "Hair Plus", and saw Matako and Mutsu doing some work. Matako was cleaning the mirrors as Mutsu swept the floor.

When they noticed me, they both said, "Morning, Michiru-San."

I sighed, "Morning."

Matako raised a blonde brow at me, and asked, "Michiru-San, why do you look so down?"

"Eh?" I questioned, also raising a brow. "I look down?"

She nodded.

I frowned, but answered, "Perhaps it's because my sister decided to tease me."

"About what?"

"Well, I'm going to try to find Bansai after work, because I want to…you know, _apologize _to him."

That's when Matako widened her eyes. Mutsu wasn't really paying attention to us (She probably didn't remember who Bansai was, anyway).

Matako smirked, and I frowned at her expression.

_Oh, great. She's probably going to tease me, too._

Matako held her chin, and asked, "You mean you want to apologize to him _today_?"

My frown deepened, and I replied, "Yeah. I want to apologize to him sooner than later, because I regret being rude to him, since he must've been through hard times."

"I understand." The blonde let go of her chin, and added, "It is better to apologize to Bansai-Senpai sooner than later."

Feeling glad that she didn't tease me, like Mika did, I sighed with relief. But Matako informed me, "Oh, Michiru-San, yesterday, when I went home, Setsora-San decided to call me…while he was drunk."

"WHAT?!" I yelled. "IS HE _THAT_ STUPID?!"

"Apparently, he is," Mutsu said nonchalantly. Seemed like she was listening to our conversation after all. Then again, I was yelling just now.

Matako continued, "Anyway, on the phone, he said that he wanted to talk to you, but since you weren't with me, I couldn't hand over my phone to you. Though, even if you were with me, I wouldn't want to give you the phone, because I had a feeling that he would say sexual stuff to you."

I scoffed, "Why did he even want to talk to me, anyway? It makes no sense."

Matako's cheeks flushed for some reason, and she hesitated, "Um…this may sound weird, Michiru-San…but…"

She trailed off, but I arched a brow up, and told her, "What? Spit it out."

She scratched the back of her neck, and continued, "…I have a feeling that Setsora-San…is in love with you."

That's when my jaw dropped in utter shock. My left brow twitched, and I practically screamed, "WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Matako's face turned beet-red, and she waved her hand up and down at me as she replied, "Sorry, sorry! But I really do have a feeling he's in love with you! And believe me, Michiru-San, I hope that I'm wrong! If he really does love you, then that'd be creepier!"

I sighed as I ran my fingers through my dark-red hair, "I _really_ hope you're wrong about that."

_Why would Setsora-San love me? He's a creep, for crying out loud! And I'm not interested into creeps, so he's NOT my type!_

Mutsu said as she dumped the garbage into the small garbage can, "Hm, come to think of it, he did want to talk to Michiru-San on the phone while he was sick."

I glared at Mutsu, "He was also _drunk_!"

"I know," Mutsu replied.

I rolled my eyes at the woman, and took out a hair tie from one of the drawers. I held my hair back, and I put it in a ponytail. As soon as that was taken care of, I gave out a sigh, and walked to the sink.

While I was washing my hands, I heard Mutsu saying to Matako, "Do you think Setsora-San will come here all drunk?"

I looked at them from the corner of my eye, and saw Matako frowning at her. She replied, "What makes you think that?"

"Because he apparently loves to drink."

Matako rolled her eyes, "Even if that's true, I don't think he would come here drunk."

Just then, the door opened, and I turned around, seeing Teki. I quickly averted my gaze away from him, because Matako's comment of Teki falling in love with me made me shudder.

Although I wasn't looking at Teki, I could tell he was walking towards me, because his steps were getting closer and closer to me.

As a shiver went up my spine, Teki said, "Good morning, Michiru-San."

I slowly turned my head to see him, and he gave me a smile, only it looked creepy…as usual.

I thought as my brow twitched again, _Isn't there a time where he doesn't look creepy?!_

I gave him an angry smile, and replied, "Morning, Setsora-San."

Teki raised a black brow, probably wondering why I looked so angry, but he continued to smile, and he walked passed me. I silently sighed with relief, but I knew I still had to be cautious, since Teki was now here at "Hair Plus".

He also greeted Matako and Mutsu, and Matako also looked uncomfortable while Mutsu greeted him back in a calm tone. Matako managed to greet him as well, only she sounded like a frog went down her throat.

Teki stared at her suspiciously, and asked, "Is something the matter, Kijima-San?"

Matako quickly shook her head, and exclaimed, "N-No!"

"Are you sure?" Teki questioned as he leaned closer to her.

Matako glared at the facial-haired man, and yelled, "YES, I'M SURE! STOP ASKING ME THAT!"

Teki widened his eyes in surprise. I widened my eyes as well, only I was amazed that Matako had the guts to yell at him like that.

I turned off the sink water, and covered my mouth to prevent myself from laughing.

Teki said, "Kijima-San, is this about yesterday, when I called you while I was drunk?"

Matako glared at him harder, and admitted as she crossed her arms, "Actually, yes, this is about yesterday. I didn't appreciate it when you said perverted things through the phone. And by the way…"

"Huh?" Teki questioned.

"…why did you want to talk to Michiru-San? Were you going to say sexual comments to her, like you did last time, when you were sick _and _drunk?"

"Er…" Teki muttered, looking dumbfounded.

I removed my hand from my mouth, and stared at Matako in amazement. I was completely taken aback, because she was defending me! She was actually _defending _me!

My lips parted as I thought, _Wow, I'm pretty impressed._

Teki scratched his hair, and responded to the blonde a bit hesitantly, "Um…I-I think you're getting the wrong idea."

I figured now was the time for me to talk, so I exclaimed, "What makes you think she's getting the wrong idea?! You decided to call on Matako's phone, just to talk to me! When I was on the phone with you, you decided to comment on my breasts, which was completely perverted. You're supposed to be our boss, not a creep!"

Teki now stared at me, and, once again, looked dumbfounded. He didn't look embarrassed, but he couldn't speak.

Smirking at his reaction to what I just said, Teki replied, "Wh-Why're you talking to your boss like that?! You should _never_ speak to your boss like that!"

I snickered, "Oh, so you can say inappropriate comments to your employees, but we can't tell you the truth on what you did?"

Teki clenched his teeth slightly, and scoffed as he headed for his office, "I don't want to talk to _any_ of you today! I'm going to stay in my office all day, so don't disturb me!"

Matako and I rolled our eyes, and as soon as Teki entered his office, he slammed the door. I will admit that that startled me, but I was glad to tell him that he wasn't supposed to be a creep.

_I'm so glad I got that off my chest._

I walked over to Matako, and gave her a high-five as I muttered, "Thanks for defending me."

She smirked, "Anytime."

**-3****rd**** POV-**

**Two hours later…**

At the cake shop, Mika was behind the counter, getting orders from customers. So far, "Cake Paradise" had about six customers today. It would make sense why very few people came, because it was still morning; therefore, not very many people would want to eat something sweet before noon. And even if they wanted something sweet, they'd have to eat a healthy breakfast first.

Mika gave a customer a slice of chocolate cake. The customer wanted it for to-go, so the slice of cake was in a small box.

As soon as Mika gave the customer the box, she smiled, "Thank you! Please come again!"

The customer nodded at her, and left "Cake Paradise". Mika sighed, and thought, _Let's hope the cake won't melt before the customer eats it._

Mika snorted in amusement as a smirk crept up her face.

The doors opened yet again, only this time, a blonde woman entered the cake shop. The woman's belly was round, so it was obvious enough that she was pregnant. But, for some reason, she panted heavily, and sweat nearly covered her face.

The pregnant woman ran to the front counter, and just as Mika widened her blue eyes at the woman's action, she slammed her hands onto the counter.

Mika yelped, "C-Can I help you, miss?!" She immediately felt stupid for asking such a question, because it looked like…oh, god, was this blonde woman about to go to labor?!

The woman yelled, "WHERE'S GINTOKI?!"

Mika responded as a drop of sweat rolled down her cheek, "H-He's not here! He left a half an hour ago!"

"Dammit," The woman growled.

Mika gasped, and realized, "Wait a minute! Aren't you his wife?!"

"Yeah," The blonde replied. "And I'm trying to find that silver-haired idiot, because my baby's about to come out!"

Just as Mika started to panic, Hinowa and Seita entered the scene, and Hinowa said, "My, Tsukuyo-San, are you about to go into labor?"

"WHAT DO YOU THINK?!" The woman, named Tsukuyo, shouted. There were only three customers in the cake shop, but they all stared at her, frowning. Tsukuyo ignored the looks on the customers' faces, and continued to shout, "I NEED TO GET TO THE HOSPITAL, BUT SINCE GINTOKI'S AT WORK, HE WASN'T ABLE TO TAKE ME THERE!"

Hinowa tried to calm her down by saying, "Calm down, Tsukuyo-San. We'll take you there." She turned to Mika, and asked the redheaded girl, "Mika-Chan, will you help me take Tsukuyo-San to the hospital?"

"HUH?!" Mika stared at her boss as if she was insane. "B-But I can't leave! I don't want customers to think we're closed!"

Hinowa smiled at the younger woman as she landed a hand on her arm, "It's alright. Seita will stay here, and in case any more customers come, he'll take the orders."

Mika gave her a cracked smile, but nodded, and she, Hinowa, and Tsukuyo all left "Cake Paradise", now heading for the hospital.

Mika asked her boss, "Are you sure Seita-San will be fine?"

Hinowa nodded, "I'm sure. He's done it before."

The redhead frowned, "When was the last time he did it?"

"Somewhere around Christmas, when you were sick."

"Oh."

Tsukuyo yelled once again, "CAN'T WE HURRY UP?! MY BABY'S ABOUT TO COME OUT RIGHT NOW!"

Hinowa shushed her, "Shh, Tsukuyo-San, yelling isn't going to do you any good. Just wait until we actually get to the hospital."

Tsukuyo glared at the woman, but didn't say anything else.

Mika sighed with relief, and thought, _I know pregnant women tend to be in pain whenever their baby's about to come out, but Tsukuyo's yelling scared the hell out of me._

Tsukuyo took deep breaths, and tried her best to stay calm. But even when she tried, the pain inside of her was intolerable.

The blonde clenched her teeth, and held her round belly as more sweat formed on her face. Mika frowned at her sweaty face, and added in thought, _Jeez, I don't think I've ever seen this much sweat on a person's face in…wait, I've NEVER seen this much sweat in my entire life!_

**15 minutes later…**

After what seemed like eternity, they _finally_ reached the hospital. Tsukuyo growled under her breath, "Finally! Now all I have to do is get inside! Hinowa-San, call my idiotic husband!"

Although Hinowa didn't appreciate Tsukuyo for ordering her like that, she nodded anyway, and asked Mika, "Mika-Chan, may I borrow your phone for a moment?"

"You don't have one of your own?" Mika asked, raising a red brow.

Hinowa shook her head, and Mika sighed as she took out her cellphone. The woman gave Hinowa her phone, and Hinowa immediately opened it, where she pressed random numbers on the cellphone.

Hinowa placed the phone on her ear, and waited for Gintoki to answer his phone. After about four rings, Gintoki picked up, and asked, "Hello?"

"Gin-San," Hinowa spoke up. "I need you to come to the hospital. Your wife is about to give birth."

"G-G-G-G-GIVE BIRTH?!" Gintoki screamed so loud, that Hinowa pulled the phone away from her ear.

Hinowa replied, "Yes, Gin-San. Tsukuyo-San's about to give birth, and she apparently wants you to be there, because she looks really angry."

"I-I'm working right now! I can't just leave!"

Tsukuyo grabbed the phone, and shouted, "GINTOKI, IF YOU DON'T COME TO THE HOSPITAL RIGHT NOW, YOU'RE NOT GETTING ANY DESSERT TONIGHT!"

"I'm on my way!" With that, he hung up.

Tsukuyo gave Mika back her phone, and without saying a word, she ran into the hospital. Mika could hear the woman shouting at a nurse about her going into labor. The nurse looked startled by the tone of Tsukuyo's voice, and Hinowa gave out a sigh.

She told Mika, "Let's go in, Mika-Chan."

Though Mika felt completely awkward by this, she slowly nodded, and followed Hinowa.

They both entered the hospital, and just as Tsukuyo grabbed the collar of the nurses' outfit, Hinowa commanded, "Tsukuyo-San, please let go of that woman."

Tsukuyo let go of the nurse, but she grumbled inaudible words. A different nurse stammered, "I-I'll get you a wh-wheelchair!" The frightened nurse quickly grabbed a wheelchair, and ran towards Tsukuyo.

The nurse expected Tsukuyo to get in the wheelchair, but instead, Tsukuyo snapped, "I'M NOT DISABLED! I DON'T NEED A GODDAMN WHEELCHAIR!"

Mika thought as she glared at the blonde, _Okay, that does it! She needs to stop yelling RIGHT NOW!_

She quickly walked over to her, and although she was apparently terrified of her, Mika exclaimed, "Tsukuyo-San, stop it! Do you want to get through with the actual birth, or do you want to be in pain all day?!"

Tsukuyo widened her violet eyes at her, and paused for a moment before thinking about Mika's words. Mika had a point, though. Tsukuyo didn't want to be in pain all day, so she had no choice but to get in the wheelchair.

She scoffed, and walked over to the wheelchair, where she sat down in it. Hinowa sighed with relief, and whispered as she wheeled over to Mika, "Good job, Mika-Chan."

"Thanks," Mika replied, also sighing with relief.

"We should probably follow them, though."

"Why?" Mika asked with a hint of fear in her tone.

Hinowa raised a brow at her, and questioned, "Mika-Chan, are you…scared of Tsukuyo-San?"

"Eh?" Mika questioned back, only she was surprised at what Hinowa asked.

Hinowa gave her a serious expression, and Mika answered with a cracked smile, "I-It's not that I'm scared of her…it's just that…her _yelling_ terrifies me."

"That is understandable, but she was yelling, because she was in pain."

Mika's cheeks burned in embarrassment, and she frowned as she mumbled, "I-I knew that…well, not really…" She shifted a shoulder up as the atmosphere was starting to grow intense.

Hinowa broke the silence by saying, "Anyway, let's follow Tsukuyo-San."

"Right," Mika mumbled again as she and Hinowa walked down the hallway.

**Another 15 minutes later…**

Mika and Hinowa were waiting just outside the room Tsukuyo was in. They were told to wait outside, because Tsukuyo was going through labor. It was probably best to not go in the room right now, anyway, because Tsukuyo was screaming her lungs out.

Mika plugged her ears with her index fingers, and murmured, "Jeez, is childbirth _that_ painful?"

Hinowa replied as she looked at Mika from the corner of her eye, "I've never been through childbirth, but apparently, giving birth to a child is _very_ painful."

Hinowa told Mika a while ago that she adopted Seita when he was a baby, which would explain the reason why she never went through childbirth.

Anyway, Mika asked her boss, "How're you used to the noise? It's so loud; it's hurting my ears."

Hinowa shrugged, "Tsukuyo-San apparently has a bad habit of yelling."

The redheaded girl rolled her eyes, and before she could reply to her boss, another ear-splitting scream could be heard. Mika clenched her teeth, and thought irritably, _Will she ever stop screaming?!_

As if on cue, the screaming finally stopped. Mika slowly unplugged her ears, and asked, "Has Tsukuyo-San finally given birth?"

Hinowa was about to answer her question, but she saw Gintoki Sakata heading their way.

The two women stared at Gintoki as he stood in front of them, panting like a dog.

Hinowa informed the silver-haired man, "Gin-San, I believe you've missed the delivery."

"Dammit!" Gintoki exclaimed as he kicked the wall in anger.

Just then, a doctor came out, and asked Gintoki, "Sir, are you the father?"

Gintoki stared at the doctor for a few seconds before admitting, "Yes."

"Come and see your son."

Mika blinked, and thought, _Oh, so Tsukuyo-San gave birth to a boy._

The doctor suddenly asked Hinowa and Mika, "Would you two ladies like to see the baby as well?"

Hinowa smiled, "Of course."

Since Tsukuyo wasn't yelling anymore, Mika decided to come into the room also, and see the baby.

She held onto the handles of Hinowa's wheelchair, and pushed her, now going into the room.

As soon as she, Hinowa, and Gintoki entered the room, they saw Tsukuyo, holding her new baby. Mika expected Tsukuyo to look angry, but instead of being angry, Tsukuyo looked…happy. Mika was relieved by this.

Gintoki gave his wife a cracked smile, and asked, "A-Are you going t-to beat me up for missing the delivery?"

Tsukuyo chuckled, "If I was still pregnant, then I would've beaten you up. But since I've given birth to our son, I don't really want to."

Gintoki sighed with relief, and gazed at his son. The baby had a head of silver hair, and also had violet eyes. Yep, the baby got his hair from his father, and he got his eyes from his mother. Isn't that sweet?

The man asked, "Can I…hold him?"

Tsukuyo nodded, and carefully handed the baby to him. Gintoki held it in his arms, and looked into the baby's eyes.

The baby began to suck on its thumb, and it closed its eyes as he cuddled into the blanket he was wrapped in.

Although Mika didn't like kids, she had to admit that it looked pretty damn cute. The way the baby cuddled into Gintoki's arms, and the way it was sucking its thumb. Yes, it was weird for Mika to think that a baby sucking its thumb was cute, but hey, she couldn't help it.

Gintoki asked, "What do you want to name it?"

Tsukuyo tapped her chin with her index finger, and after a moment of thinking, she answered, "How about Ginjaro?"

"Ginjaro?" Gintoki repeated the name.

The woman nodded, "It has 'Gin' in it."

Gintoki had to chuckle at that.

Hinowa turned to Mika, and asked, "You ready to go, Mika-Chan?"

"Yes, Hinowa-San," Mika briefly nodded before pushing Hinowa's wheelchair out of the room.

As they were leaving the hospital, Hinowa asked the cerulean-eyed woman, "Mika-Chan, just out of curiosity, do you like kids?"

Mika didn't expect her boss to ask a question like that, but she wasn't too surprised. Mika grinned, "To be honest, no, I don't like kids. I can handle Seita-San, but that's because he behaves well."

"I see." That was all Hinowa said.

They headed back to "Cake Paradise", and when they returned, they saw Seita giving a customer a slice of strawberry cheesecake.

Hinowa smiled as the customer received the cheesecake, and walked away.

Hinowa asked her son, "Seita, how many customers came while we were gone?"

Seita shrugged, "Just two."

Hinowa continued to smile, but told him, "Seita, Mika-Chan would like to take her spot back now."

Seita nodded, and walked away from the counter. He passed Mika, and went into the kitchen as Mika stood behind the counter.

A barely audible sigh escaped her lips as she thought, _Let's hope I won't have to be near Tsukuyo-San whenever she's this angry._

**-Michiru's POV-**

**A few hours later…**

It was time for Matako, Mutsu, and I to go home. Teki literally hasn't been out of his office at all today. He never even came out to use the bathroom! I hoped he didn't pee in bottles, though; that would've been extremely disgusting.

Anyway, Mutsu said as she grabbed the strap to her purse, "I'll see you two tomorrow."

Matako and I waved at her as she left "Hair Plus". We also grabbed our purses, but Matako ruffled her hand through her purse, and mumbled to herself, "Where's that damn lipstick?"

She glared at her own purse, but within seconds, she pulled out what looked to be pink lipstick. I rolled my eyes when she wasn't looking at me, and she popped the cap off. Matako looked at herself in the mirror, and carefully put some lipstick on her lips.

When she was done, she put the cap back on, and she put the lipstick into her purse. Matako gazed her eyes at me, and asked as she pointed at her now-pink lips, "Do I look pretty with lipstick, Michiru-San?"

I arched a brow up, and smirked, "What're you putting on lipstick for?"

"I'm going to meet up with the man I have a crush on today, so I want to look good."

I chuckled, "Yes, you look pretty with lipstick, Matako-San."

She gave me a suspicious look, and asked as she also arched a brow, "Are you just saying that?"

I rolled my eyes, "No. It's the truth. I wouldn't want to lie to you."

Matako smiled with relief, "Good. I was just checking. By the way, Michiru-San, why don't you ever wear make-up? You once told me that you wanted a boyfriend someday, so you should wear at least a little bit of make-up. That way, guys will notice you."

The last part made me glare at her. I asked, "Are you saying I'm ugly?"

Matako widened her eyes, and exclaimed, "I didn't mean it like that! I meant that most guys are more into beauty than personality. You are pretty, but you're not beautiful."

I rubbed the bridge of my nose, and replied, "Well, those guys are idiots." Matako frowned at me, and I continued with a sigh, "Matako-San, if you want to put on make-up to impress this guy, then go ahead. It's none of my business. But I don't need to wear make-up to make myself beautiful. No offense, but looks aren't everything. You look pretty enough without make-up."

She widened her eyes again, only this time, her brows raised as well.

I ignored her expression, and said as I put my purse strap onto my shoulder, "Anyway, I should get going. Like I said this morning, I'm going to try to find Bansai, just to apologize to him. Bye."

I waved at my blonde friend, and left "Hair Plus" as well. As soon as I exited the small building, I started my search for Bansai Kawakami.

As I've mentioned before, I wanted to find Bansai before heading for home, because I wanted to apologize to him sooner than later, that way I wouldn't feel so guilty for being rude to him anymore.

It must be terrible for his mother having lung cancer. None of my family members have had any kind of cancer, but I've obviously read about cancer in health books back in high school, _including_ lung cancer. So yeah, I feel _really_ bad for him and his mother.

Anyway, I continued searching for the teal-haired man. I've looked for him for a few minutes, and I haven't caught sight of him. Man, I wished I knew where he lived, then maybe searching wouldn't be so difficult.

I sighed in frustration, and ran my fingers through my long hair as I thought, _Where could he be?_

Just then, I saw a familiar figure. The figure was far away from me, but I squinted my dark-blue eyes, and realized that the figure had teal-colored hair. But that wasn't all. The figure's hair was also spiky.

My eyes snapped wide, and I came to a realization that I actually found Bansai. I found it pretty funny, because almost everytime we meet up, _he_ finds _me_ first before I find him.

Without a second thought, I dashed towards the spiky-haired man. Bansai probably didn't notice me, because I was fairly certain he was listening to music as usual. That wasn't the point, though.

As soon as I was beside the man, I panted heavily, and rested my hands on my knees. I still wasn't sure if he noticed me or not, but I heard him ask, "Hm? Is there something you need, Michiru-San? Usually, I'm the one who finds you first."

A chuckle escaped his lips, and I stood straight up as I replied, "Actually, yes. I need to speak with you."

He bounced his head, and I could tell for sure that he was listening to his music. Dammit!

I thought, frowning, _No, don't get rude. Just politely ask him to take off the headphones, or at least turn down the volume in them._

I took a deep breath, and asked, "Could you turn down those headphones?"

He didn't do anything. He just stood there, bouncing his head in rhythm. Great, so much for trying to be polite. I have a bit of a bad temper, so…I was going to have to yell at him to get his attention.

I took another deep breath, but yelled, "COULD YOU PLEASE TURN DOWN YOUR HEADPHONES?!"

Bansai reached his headphones, and turned down the volume. I was glad I didn't have to yell again, but he snickered, "I knew you were going to yell at me, I daresay."

I rolled my eyes, but said as I crossed my arms, "That was necessary. Anyway, I need to talk to you."

"What do you want to talk about? Your anger issues?" He snickered once again.

I harshly glared at him, but I told myself to not be rude to him again. Before I could answer, though, Bansai added, "Wait a second…your song just changed."

"Is that sarcasm?" I hissed.

Bansai shook his head, "I never use sarcasm, I daresay. Anyway, your song changed into what sounds like a mixture of pop and rock. It sometimes sounds like pop, because you're trying to not get too angry."

_I knew it. He's not making any sense…again. Ugh._

Bansai continued, "And it sometimes sounds like rock, because you're not hesitant to get angry with me."

Even though I should be angry at that, I wasn't, because he was right. Whenever we saw each other, I wasn't hesitant to get angry at him, since – as I said – I have a temper.

I sighed quietly, "I don't really care what my song is right now. I just want to apologize."

"Hm?" He hummed, raising a teal brow.

I narrowed my eyes, and calmly replied, "I want to apologize for being rude to you." He still had his brow arched up. I sighed once more, and added, "Matako told me about your mother."

That's when he raised _both_ his brows. He was most likely surprised at what I just said, but I continued on, "She told me that your mother has lung cancer, and when I thought of the times when I was rude to you, I felt ashamed of myself, because being rude to you doesn't make it any better. Well, not that it was okay to be rude to you in the first place, but that's not the point here. I can tell you've been through some hard times, because of your mothers' cancer."

His lips parted, and when he didn't reply, I added, "I'm sorry for all that. I'll try to not be rude anymore, but doesn't mean I won't get angry if you decide to anger me."

A smirk crept up his face, and he replied, "Don't apologize. You didn't know about my mothers' cancer until Matako-San told you."

"True, but maybe I wouldn't have been so rude if she told me about it sooner."

"Still, don't apologize. I forgive you, though," Bansai told me as his smirk left his face.

I half-smiled, and said as I uncrossed my arms, "Well, I better get home. Bye."

I was about to walk away from him, but Bansai interrupted, "Michiru-San, how about we talk some more at the coffee shop tomorrow, before you go to work? Because right now, I have to mail a letter to Otsu-Dono."

I rolled my eyes at the last part, but I responded, "Sure, we can talk tomorrow. Just don't try to anger me while we're at the coffee shop."

"Heh, you'll get angry at me, even if I don't try, I daresay," He chuckled.

I glared at him from the corner of my eye, but I replied, "I'm going home. Good-bye."

With that, I walked away from the teal-haired man.

I thought as I started walking home, _I'm pretty surprised he wants to talk to me tomorrow. Maybe he's interested about my life…? Bah, who knows? I'll just have to wait until tomorrow._

* * *

**For the Tsukuyo scene, I was originally going to have Michiru find her, and I was also going to put that scene in the later chapters, but I figured it wouldn't quite work out, plus I would probably forget to add it (Since I tend to forget to add scenes in general). LOL**

**Anyway, just to clear things up, no, Bansai and Michiru don't have feelings for each other...yet. Hehe.**

**Hope you enjoyed chapter 6! :)**


	7. Trust

**Enjoy!**

**Dilemma: ****Wow. Guess I really was confused. I hate myself now. Anyway, I wasn't blaming the lack of reviews on my choices of muses, or the fact that the majority of my work is OC stories. I should remind you that I don't _care _if I get reviews or not (Though I'm fairly certain you saw my profile already, so what's the point of mentioning that?). And for you saying, "Your plots, characters and overall writing are bland, unsophisticated and juvenile"; I'm sorry, but have you even read my other work (Because I never saw you reviewing my other stories before this one)? And for your information, I know good writing is more than just good grammar. I will admit that I'm not the best writer, but...you know what? There's no point in arguing anymore. But I'm not going to stop writing this, no matter what you say! And here's _your_ wake-up call: Don't be a smart-ass! If you don't want to read anymore of my stories, then fine, but saying stuff like, "good riddance for you?" makes me want to face-palm myself. -_- By the way, you didn't need to be so rude about it.**

* * *

As soon as I returned home, I closed the door behind myself, and shut my eyes as I gave out a sigh. I finally apologized to Bansai, and I was glad he forgave me, but for some reason whatsoever, he wanted to have a talk with me tomorrow at the coffee shop. Not that it bothered me; I was just wondering why _he_ wanted to talk to _me_, when I clearly have a temper.

Oh well, better to wait until tomorrow than think about it now.

Anyway, I took off my slippers, and walked into the living room as I sighed, "Well, my apology to Bansai was easier than I thought."

I sat on the couch, and grabbed a random magazine. I opened it, and the first thing I saw was an article about…Tsu Terakado's new album…with the commentary. Jeez, does _every_ magazine have an article about that freaking pop-singer?!

I groaned, and decided to not read the magazine. I put it back onto the coffee table, and just then, I heard the front door open. I turned my head around, and saw none other than Mika.

I greeted her, "Welcome home, Mika."

She nodded, and replied, "Michiru, you'll _never_ guess what happened today."

My brow furrowed, but I asked, "What?"

"A pregnant woman, who happens to be Hinowa-San's friend, came to 'Cake Paradise', and screamed that she was going into labor."

I widened my cerulean eyes in slight shock, but I managed to ask another question, "Was she taken to the hospital?"

Mika nodded with a cracked smile, "Hinowa-San and I took her there. We managed to get her to the hospital, but she was yelling until she actually gave birth to her kid. Her husband came, but he was a bit late, because he was supposed to be working. But they're fine, and they named their kid Ginjaro."

I snorted, "Ginjaro? What a funny name."

Mika agreed, "It is. Anyway, what should we have for dinner?"

"How about miso soup?" I suggested.

My twin sister smirked, "You always want miso soup."

"Hey, I love miso soup! Don't judge me!" I pouted, crossing my arms.

Mika chuckled, "Alright, we'll have miso soup for dinner."

I stood up from the couch, and the two of us headed to the kitchen. Mika asked, smirking yet again, "Are we going to make this together?"

I answered, "You're not that good in making miso soup, so I should probably help you."

She glared at me, but didn't reply. I was better at making miso soup than Mika, because I've read how to make them in cookbooks, and I've watched some cooking shows when I was a little girl.

Mika and I entered the kitchen, and I opened up the refrigerator, where I grabbed some of the ingredients for making miso soup. Mika grabbed a pot, and put it under the faucet, where she turned on the water.

As soon as the pot was half-way full, Mika turned off the water, and set it on top of the stove.

I turned to look at my sister, and I asked her with a confident grin, "Ready to make miso soup?"

She nodded, grinning back, "What do you think?"

I laughed, and we started making the soup.

**-3****rd**** POV-**

After realizing that everyone at "Hair Plus" left, Teki walked out of his office, and sighed as he thought, _Dammit. Those bitches decided to humiliate me!_

He gripped his black hair, and clenched his teeth in frustration. Earlier today, he didn't expect Matako and Michiru to talk like that in front of him. And what was worse (At least to Teki) was that they both said it with _no_ hesitation! He was surprised by this, but at the same time, he was angry.

Teki scoffed, and left "Hair Plus". Of course, he locked the door. Teki ran home, and thought once more, _How dare they speak to me like that, especially Michiru! She's definitely going to get it…_

Moments later, he arrived home. He lived in a rather messy house, but it wasn't too filthy. He was glad he lived alone; otherwise his "roommate" would order him to clean up, even though Teki isn't a very organized person. Teki closed the door behind him, and locked the door.

The man clenched his teeth once again, only this time, he kicked a box that was beside him. The torn-up box flew up in the air, but it eventually went back down to the floor. Teki ignored the box, and charged towards the kitchen.

As soon as he entered the somewhat messy kitchen, he opened the fridge, and took out a bottle of beer. The only things that were in his fridge were 16 bottles of beer, cheese, meat, and eggs. Yeah…that was it. Apparently, Teki is very poor. He managed to pay bills, and the mortgage, mind you; he just tends to be a little late whenever he actually pays bills and shit like that.

Anyway, Teki opened one of his drawers, and pulled out a bottle opener, where he almost immediately pulled the cap off of the bottle. The cap hit the counter, but Teki ignored it, and headed for his bedroom.

He came into his bedroom, and slammed the door closed with his foot. Teki then walked over to his bed, and when he was in front of it, he sat down, and began drinking his beer.

In a matter of seconds, the bottle was more than halfway empty. Teki gasped for air, and exclaimed, "Yeah, this is the shit!"

A hoarse laugh escaped his mouth, and he picked up a DVD that was on the floor.

Teki went to his DVD player, and as soon as he put the DVD in, he pressed "play", and the DVD starting playing.

A moment or two later, the actual "movie" started, and Teki began to unbuckle his belt as he took another sip of his beer. In the DVD, the man and woman were starting to kiss in a fiery passion. They then French-kissed, and Teki finished unbuckling his belt. He pulled the belt from the hoops of his pants, and tossed them on the floor. He held the zipper in his pants, and pulled them down.

Yes, Teki was watching a porn film. Go figure.

When the zipper was all the way down, he also unbuttoned his pants. Teki sat on the hardwood floor, and he put his hands into his pants, where he pulled out his member. As the "couple" in the porn film started to get it on, Teki began to stroke his member.

He closed his green eyes, and thought angrily, _I'll make Michiru pay for talking back to me. But…I'll need to come up with a plan, first._

Throughout the film, Teki still had his eyes closed, but as he heard the woman in the film moaning, he continued to stroke his manhood with his hand. Teki started to moan, but it was barely audible for him to hear. He bit his lower lip, and barely opened his eyes. Teki stared at the T.V. screen, where the man continued to have sex with the woman.

Although Teki still had his lower lip bitten, drool trailed down the corner of his lip. He paid no mind to it, and he stopped biting his lip.

Teki licked his lips, and said to no one in particular, "Is it getting hot in here? Because I feel like I'm on fire…"

A smirk crept up the facial-haired man's face, and he tilted his head down as he groaned, "Oh god…I'm gonna cum!"

Within seconds, he moaned as he climaxed. His body twitched as he panted heavily. Beads of sweat rolled down his face, and he slowly opened his eyes, only to see his cum on the floor.

He frowned, and thought, _Shit, I did it again._

He sighed, and stood up, grabbing a few tissues from his nightstand. He was lucky he had hardwood floor instead of carpet; otherwise he would have to scrub the carpet by using a sponge, with soap, of course.

Teki cleaned up the floor, and threw the tissues into the garbage can by his bed. The garbage can looked full, though. Teki frowned once more, and as he buttoned his pants – and pulled the zipper up – he grabbed the garbage can, and paused the DVD, since it wasn't over yet.

The man walked outside, and dumped the garbage into the dumpster, which was a few meters away from his house.

After dumping the garbage, Teki went back inside his house. He locked it once again, but grumbled, "I hope I don't have to go outside again for the night."

He re-entered his room, and resumed the DVD.

He drank more of his beer, and thought, _Michiru and Matako are both going to PAY!_

**-Michiru's POV-**

**The next day…**

I brushed my long hair, getting rid of the knots. Not surprisingly, there were very few knots.

When I finished brushing, I put my hairbrush down, and walked out of the bathroom.

Mika stepped out of her bedroom, and asked, "Michiru, are you leaving soon?"

"Yeah, why?" I asked, arching a red brow. I told Mika that I was going to meet up with Bansai before I headed off to work.

Mika answered, "I wanted to ask you something before I forgot."

"What is it?"

"Could you get two bottles of pepper spray on your way home?"

I widened my eyes, but chuckled, "Pepper spray, you say?"

Mika nodded, "In case any guys try to 'hit' on us, especially your boss, Teki Setsora."

I began to think, _Hm, Mika does have a point. Setsora-San is a creep, so in case he does anything perverted to me, I'll have to pepper-spray his face._

I smirked at the thought of that. I decided, "Okay, I'll get pepper spray on my way back. I still need to cautious whenever I'm around Setsora-San, anyway. By the way, thanks for telling me. I wouldn't have thought of getting pepper spray if you hadn't mentioned it."

Mika snickered, "Anytime. Pepper spray is useful, after all."

I nodded, but said, "Anyway, I need to get going. I'll make sure to get some pepper spray tonight."

Mika nodded back, and I grabbed my purse, and rested the strap on my right shoulder. I then put on my black slippers, and left the house within seconds.

Since I knew where I was going to talk to Bansai, I headed over to the coffee shop. At least I wouldn't have to get frustrated while searching for him this time (Even though I'm not exactly "searching" for the man).

Once I arrived at the coffee shop, I didn't see Bansai. I frowned, and thought, _Maybe he's on his way over here._

Sighing, I leaned my back against the wall, and patiently waited for Bansai. I only had an hour before I needed to go to work, anyway.

A few moments passed, and I still didn't see any signs of Bansai. My frown deepened, but all of a sudden, I felt a finger tap my shoulder. I yelped, but when I turned around, I saw none other than Bansai.

I glared at him, and exclaimed as I crossed my arms, "Don't scare me like that!"

He chuckled, "I told you, you were going to get angry with me, I daresay."

I rolled my eyes, "You scared me by tapping me on the shoulder; that's why I'm angry!"

Bansai chuckled again, but he changed the subject by saying, "Let's go in."

Once again, I rolled my eyes, but I followed Bansai into the coffee shop.

He asked me as we entered the coffee shop, "Are you going to order something, or are you going to sit down and wait for me?"

I didn't know why he had to ask that, but I sighed, "I'm going to order something. I'm paying for my own drink, though."

"I never said I was going to buy something for you, I daresay," He replied.

"Whatever," I muttered as I stood behind him.

The line was pretty short, so we were able to get our drinks within minutes. Bansai got coffee, and I got myself peppermint tea. I don't have a favorite kind of tea, but I drink any kind, since I'm a huge fan of tea in general.

Bansai and I sat down, and as he took a sip of his coffee, the first question I asked was, "Just out of curiosity, why did you want to talk to me? Is this about yesterday, when I apologized to you?"

He responded, "Sort of, but I wanted to talk to you about other stuff."

"Like?" I questioned as I took a sip of my tea.

"Well, you already know about my mother having lung cancer, but I don't believe Matako-San told you the _reason _why my mom smoked in the first place."

I frowned, but muttered, "Go on…"

Bansai sighed, "My mother began smoking when I was a kid, and I found out that the reason why she smoked was because…my father cheated on her, and left us, leaving only my mom to take care of me."

I widened my eyes in complete shock. If I was drinking my tea while he said that, I would've choked on it. I replied, managing to not be too loud, "Your father cheated on your mother?!"

He nodded, "Yes. After he left us, my mother was so frustrated, that she went to a friend, and asked what could make her feel better. Her friend told her that smoking would make her feel better."

"That's stupid. Smoking only makes you worse."

"That's what I said when I was a kid, I daresay." Another sigh escaped his lips, and he continued, "Anyway, my mom once said to me, 'If your bastard father didn't cheat on me, then maybe I wouldn't have started smoking'."

"Wow, your father must've been a real asshole back then, huh?"

Bansai nodded, "He was, I daresay. I haven't seen my father since then, and for the truth, I'd rather never see him again."

"I don't blame you," I sighed, taking yet another sip of my hot tea.

"By the way, Michiru-San, do you trust very many people?"

I was shocked once again, but this time, I actually choked on my tea. I coughed, and hit my chest multiple times as I gasped, "Wh-Why're you asking this all of a sudden?!"

"Because you get angry too easily, I daresay," He immediately answered as he drank more of his coffee.

I gave him another glare, but I somehow managed to calmly say, "I don't trust very many people, because I can never tell if they're lying or not. I know that's a lame excuse, but I can't stand people who lie to me, just to make me look like an idiot."

Bansai grinned, and asked, "So you don't trust me as well?"

I paused, not knowing how to answer that question. The only words that came out of my mouth were, "Why…why would I trust you, anyway?"

_Crap! I hesitated for a second there!_

Bansai informed me, not really answering my question, "Your song has grown peaceful just now."

"Huh?"

"It's changed to some kind of folk song, with slow beats. It also has a hint of techno in it." He suddenly grinned at me, which caused me to frown for the umpteenth time.

"Is that good?" Wow, that was one of the stupidest questions I've ever asked. I felt stupid now.

Just as I was about to slap myself for asking that stupid question, Bansai raised a teal brow, and chuckled yet again, "Yes. Did you think your song was bad?"

"You didn't answer my previous question, though!" I exclaimed, going back to the previous topic. "Why would I trust you?!"

"Because I very rarely lie, I daresay."

I sighed as I rubbed my forehead, "That doesn't mean I should trust you automatically."

"Well, what _can_ I do to make you trust me? Your song doesn't have any scratches, or beats or tunes that're off, so I trust you."

"How can you trust _me_?! You don't even know much about my life!"

"That may be true, but you promised to not tell anybody about my career, plus I can tell that you hate liars as much as I do. Well, I'm pretty sure you hate liars _more_ than I do, but that's not the point."

I stared at him, but replied, "I…I don't really know how I can trust you. Part of me wants to trust you – for some strange reason – but another part of me is saying that I can't, because you're still a confusing person."

"Hm? I'm still a confusing person? That makes very little sense, Michiru-San. I told you the meaning of 'songs', didn't I?"

"Y-You did," I stammered. "But you confuse me from time to time."

_Dammit, now I'M the one not making much sense! What is wrong with me? I think I'm getting a headache…_

Bansai smirked, "Anyway, how much time do you have before you have to go to work?"

I blinked, but took out my phone from my purse, and opened it up, checking the time. As soon as I saw the time, I replied to the teal-haired man, "About 40 minutes. Why?"

"I want you to talk about your life. I told you mine, so now it's your turn, I daresay."

I gently bit my lower lip, and thought, _Guess I should tell him, since I have plenty of time before I need to be at work._

A sigh escaped my lips, and I narrowed my eyes as I said, "Alright, then. My life wasn't that great, but it wasn't that terrible either. Well, there was one thing that happened during middle school, and it's something I _don't_ want to remember."

The memory of that douchebag in middle school still angered me. It will always anger me whenever I think about it.

Bansai curiously asked, "What happened while you were in middle school?"

I drank more of my tea, and then explained, "Near the end of middle school, I used to like a guy, and I thought he liked me back, since we hung out a lot, but I found out that he _hated_ being with me. He never liked me, not even as a friend. He insulted me, so I punched him in the face."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. I was such a naïve teenager back then. But I decided to get serious once I reached high school." I gazed in another direction, and continued, "So far, the only people I actually trust are Matako-San, Mutsu-San, and my family."

"Who's Mutsu?"

"She's another employee at 'Hair Plus'."

"Hm," He hummed as he finished up his coffee. Bansai threw the cup without even standing up, and it landed in the garbage can.

He told me, "Continue on."

I briefly nodded, "As I told you, I don't trust very many people, because it's _very _easy to lie, and I can't ever tell if the person is lying or not. I've even read magazines on how to 'detect' lies, but they barely help."

I rested my cheek in my palm, and huffed, "Life sucks."

"Not entirely, I daresay," Bansai said.

I raised a brow, and muttered, still having my cheek in my palm, "Huh?"

He told me, "Life doesn't _always_ suck, I daresay."

Rolling my eyes at the man, I replied in a somewhat low tone, "Heh, that's what _you_ think. I've had a shitty time in my freshman year in high school, because I've been so angry at that guy from middle school. Hopefully, though, I won't ever have to see his face again." I finished my tea, and threw the cup in the garbage can as well.

I continued, "But throughout my years in high school, a lot of girls – who weren't my friends, by the way – kept asking me if I wanted a boyfriend. I didn't know why they kept asking me that, but I kept telling them that I was going to wait until I found a guy who's _completely_ honest, and won't insult me."

"So you _want_ a boyfriend?" Bansai questioned.

"Yeah," I responded. "But I've never had one, because I was going to wait, like I said. I want to have a boyfriend who only cares about personality, not looks. Looks aren't everything, you know?"

When I suddenly remembered Matako asking me why I never wear make-up, I snickered, and added, "Matako-San even told me yesterday that most guys are more into beauty than personality, which I found pretty stupid. Most guys are idiots."

Bansai replied, "I'm not one of those guys, I daresay."

"Hm?"

"I believe that for women, songs are more important than beauty."

I laughed at his statement, "You mean 'songs' as in 'personality'?"

"Yes."

Another laugh escaped my lips. "You're lucky I'm not calling you an idiot, then. At least you prefer personality over beauty." A sudden thought came to my mind, and without thinking, I asked, "Kawakami-San, do you want a girlfriend someday?"

My eyes widened, and I scolded myself by thinking, _What am I saying?! Bansai doesn't even seem like the kind of person who wants a girlfriend!_

Bansai asked back, "Why do you ask? Are you into me?"

"No!" I accidentally snapped. "I'm just curious, that's all!" My cheeks turned red in embarrassment, but I crossed my arms, and pouted.

Bansai laughed, but answered, "You could say I want a girlfriend, but I don't really need one right now. I'd rather focus on work at the moment."

I eventually got over my embarrassment, and replied to the spiky-haired man, "That's kind of surprising, because I thought you were the kind of guy who's not into dating and such."

"As I just said, I don't need a girlfriend right now."

I half-smiled, but stood up, and said, "I should probably get going. It was actually nice talking to you, Kawakami-San."

_Hold on, did I just say it was "nice" talking to him? Do I not hate him anymore? Wow, I'm VERY surprised at myself._

Blinking in slight surprise, Bansai also stood up, and replied, "Same here, but please just call me 'Bansai' from now on."

"Um…okay."

I stared at him a bit awkwardly, and thought, _Why does he want me to address him by his first name?_

Since no answer was coming to my mind, I added, _Oh well, if he wants me to call him by his first name, then I shall do that._

I shrugged my shoulders, and said, "Well, I need to get going. Bye…Bansai-San."

"Bye." Bansai and I left the coffee shop, and we walked in opposite directions.

As I was heading for work, I began to wonder, _Maybe Matako-San's right. Maybe Bansai and I can get along after all. Though, I feel a bit weird about this._

I gave myself a cracked smile as I scratched my cheek with my fingernail. I really did feel weird about this. The first few times we met, he pissed me off by confusing the hell out of me (You know what I'm talking about), and now…I don't feel really angry at him anymore. Perhaps it's because he's been through some _really _rough times, like when his father cheated on his mother when he was a kid, and when his mother was forced to go to the hospital, because she got lung cancer. Yes, it is a weird reason for me not getting pissed off at him anymore, but this just felt…sudden, for lack of better word.

Anyway, I finally arrived at "Hair Plus", but when I looked at the clock, I found out that I was 20 minutes early.

I sighed, and gazed my eyes at Matako, who was turning on the cash register.

She noticed me, and greeted, "Good morning, Michiru-San."

"Morning," I greeted back.

"Did you apologize to Bansai-Senpai yesterday?"

I nodded, "I did, and he accepted my apology, but he wanted to talk to me at the coffee shop today."

The blonde raised a brow at me, and asked, "Really?"

"Yeah. We talked at the coffee shop, but strangely, I was barely angry at him throughout our talk."

Matako chuckled, "Did you expect him to make you angry?"

"Sort of," I admitted, shrugging my shoulders.

"What did you two talk about? I mean, if you don't want to tell me, that's fine."

"No, I'll tell you," I replied to the blonde. "I told him what happened in my last year in middle school, and he told me the reason why his mother started smoking."

"I see," Matako held her chin. "What else did you two talk about?"

"Well, I also told him that I don't trust very many people. He asked me if I didn't trust him; I didn't give him a complete answer, but I asked why I would trust him. All he said was, 'Because I rarely lie'."

"Hm…well, that is true. Bansai-Senpai doesn't lie very often, so…?"

I frowned, "What?"

"…I think you should trust him. You _have_ been seeing him more often."

That might have been true, but my frown deepened, and I told her, "You're _barely _helping, Matako-San."

She shrugged her shoulders, but her cellphone started ringing. Matako arched a brow up, but she took out her phone, and opened up. She answered it, and said, "Hello?"

Obviously, I couldn't hear the caller on the phone, but Matako frowned for some reason.

She asked the caller, "Are you sick again?"

Seconds later, Matako hung up the phone, and blinked her green eyes multiple times. I sighed, "Was that Setsora-San?"

Matako nodded slowly, "Yeah…he said he wasn't coming today. I asked if he was sick, but he didn't say anything. He just hung up on me."

"Huh? Is this about yesterday, when we 'angered' him?"

"Probably, but I don't regret it!"

"Hehe, me either," I smirked. "Oh, Matako-San, I'm going to get some pepper spray after work."

I knew telling Matako this was unnecessary, but I figured she would laugh at this.

And she did. Matako snickered, "Are you gonna use it on Setsora-San?"

"If he tries to sexually harass me, then yes."

Matako laughed, "That's a good idea."

Mutsu also came in, and said in a dull tone, "Morning."

Matako and I replied to her, "Good morning."

Mutsu put her purse down, and asked, "Guess what happened last night at my house?"

I questioned, "What?"

"My friend came over, and he got so drunk, that I had to drive him home."

Matako and I paused, not knowing what to say to that.

Mutsu added, "Well, I better take out the garbage." With that, she walked over to the garbage can, and pulled it bag out. She then walked out, and threw it in the dumpster.

I turned to my blonde friend, and said, "I'm also getting some pepper spray for my sister."

"Is she worried about getting harassed by a creep as well?"

"Pretty much."

Matako narrowed her eyes, and informed me, "Michiru-San, although it's a good idea to use pepper spray for self-defense, I should warn you that you, or your sister, could be imprisoned, depending on the damage caused to the target."

I thought, parting my lips, _Oh yeah, that's right. There're no laws about having pepper spray, but I should be careful if I'm actually going to use it._

I nodded, "I'll try to be careful, then."

"Good," Matako smiled.

I sighed, and decided to go to work.

**-3****rd**** POV-**

As Bansai walked away from the coffee shop, he turned up the volume in his headphones, listening to Tsu Terakado's music, as usual.

He put his hands in his pockets, and began to bounce his head in rhythm.

Bansai thought, _I'm not surprised Michiru-San was shocked when I told her that I trust her._

As mentioned earlier, Bansai trusted Michiru, because she promised to not tell anyone about his music career. But it was also because the beat or tune wasn't off in her "song". Yes, it was a strange reason, but at least there was an explanation.

A smirk crept up Bansai's face, and he thought once more, _What can I do to make Michiru-San trust me?_

All of a sudden, his cellphone started to ring. Bansai blinked behind his dark sunglasses, and pulled out his cellphone.

He opened it up, and wasn't at all surprised when he found out that Tsu Terakado was calling him.

He chuckled, and answered the call as he pulled his headphones down. He asked, "Hello, Otsu-Dono. What's up?"

Tsu replied cheerfully, "Tsunpo~! I just wanted to let you know that my new album has sold over 200,000 copies in one day~!"

Bansai's smirk grew wider, "Well, that's good news."

"Tsunpo, why don't you sound excited? You should at least scream with joy!" Tsu pouted.

Bansai rolled his eyes, but smiled, "I'm not like that _at all_, Otsu-Dono."

Tsu sighed, but said, "Anyway, that's all I wanted to say. And remember, if you come up with any lyrics, write them down, and send them to me."

"That's what you say every time you call me," Bansai chuckled.

Tsu cheered, ignoring the man, "Bye, Tsunpo~!" With that, the call ended.

Bansai was about to close his cellphone, but his phone rang again. He frowned at first, but when he saw who was calling him, his eyes widened in shock.

It was the Senjushi Hospital.

Bansai's lips parted, and he hesitated for a few seconds before pressing the "send" button. He slowly asked, "Hello…?"

A doctor asked, "Am I bothering you, Kawakami-San?"

"No…" Bansai muttered, having a bad feeling on what the doctor would say.

The doctor sighed, "Good. I just called to let you know that…your mothers' condition has gotten worse."

That's when Bansai's heart started to thump. A drop of sweat rolled down his cheek as the doctor continued, "One of the nurses took your mother out for some fresh air, but when she was left alone, she somehow found a pack of cigarettes, and started smoking."

Bansai gasped in utter shock. He nearly dropped his phone, but he was able to still hold onto it.

The doctor added, "We caught her smoking, and we were able to stop her, but she violently coughed. Hold on, I think your mother wants to talk to you."

Bansai clenched his teeth, and angrily thought, _Is this a joke?!_

His mother was now on the phone, and Reiko weakly said, "H-Hello, Bansai. How're you d-doing?"

"How am I doing?! _That's _the first thing you say _after_ the doctor informed me that you decided to smoke again, despite your condition?!" Bansai exclaimed.

"L-Look, sweetie, s-sometimes I can't help it," Reiko coughed loudly. "I-I didn't want to smoke again, because of my lung cancer, b-but my b-body begged f-for it…"

"Oh, no! I do _not_ want to hear any excuses! If you keep smoking, you'll die quicker than you'll ever imagine!" Bansai didn't expect himself to say that, but he was really angry at his mother, so…yeah.

Reiko cried, "B-Bansai…how can you _say_ such a th-thing?!"

Bansai could feel water in his eyes, but he tried his best to not cry. He replied, still furious, "Why did you have to smoke after dad left us?! If you haven't started smoking in the first place, none of this would've happened!"

"Bansai…" That was all Reiko could say.

Although Bansai couldn't see his mother, he knew she was crying, because Reiko started sniffing.

Bansai clenched his fist as he added, "Why don't you stop smoking for good?! Maybe then, you won't be coughing so violently! Then again, your lung cancer can't be cured, so you'll still die, whether or not you'll stop!"

The teal-haired man eventually calm down, but he was still infuriated at his mother, because she _still_ couldn't stop smoking.

He relaxed his fist, and quietly said, "I'm sorry, mom. I didn't mean it like that, I daresay. I'm just angry."

"I understand, s-son," Reiko coughed once again. "You have the r-right to be a-angry with me. It's my fault, anyway."

Bansai half-smiled, and replied, "Well, I'm going to get going. Please stop smoking, mom."

Reiko weakly chuckled, "I'll try. Bye, sweetie."

"Bye."

Bansai pressed "end", now ending the call. He held the phone, and stared at it as tears were threatening to escape. But Bansai rubbed his eyes under his sunglasses, so no tears came out.

The man sighed, and put the cellphone in his pocket as he continued his walk.

**-Michiru's POV-**

Hours have passed, and it was time for Matako, Mutsu, and I to go home. The day went by pretty quickly, and it was also pretty quiet throughout the day. We had customers today, mind you; Matako, Mutsu, and I just didn't talk much…for some strange reason.

Anyway, Mutsu had already left, and as I was getting ready to go, Matako asked, "Michiru-San, do you have any plans for Saturday?"

I raised a brow at the blonde, and answered, "Not really. Why?"

"I was wondering if you and Mika-San would like to go to dinner with me on Saturday. Is that alright with you?"

I gave the woman a smile, and responded, "I'm fine with that. I'd have to ask Mika, though."

Matako nodded.

I added, "I'm gonna get going. See you later."

She waved at me as I exited "Hair Plus".

I remembered that I needed to get some pepper spray, so I headed for the store.

**Ten minutes later…**

I entered the small market, and began searching for pepper spray. I looked around, and thought, _Where's that pepper spray?_

After a moment or two of searching, I spotted the small black bottles of pepper spray. My dark-blue eyes widened, and a smirk crept up my face.

I grabbed two bottles, and almost immediately headed over to the cashier counter.

I put the bottles on the counter, and the cashier raised a brow, and asked, "Two bottles?"

"One for me, and one for my sister," I informed the cashier. She smiled, and scanned the bottles.

She then put them in a plastic bag, but told me as she was giving the bag to me, "Just be careful when you're using them."

"I know. I probably won't use this very much, anyway."

She smiled once more, and said, "Have a nice day."

"Thanks, you too." I grabbed the handles to the bag, and headed out.

As I was walking home, I stared at the bag, and chuckled quietly as I thought, _Although I may not use it very often, I should probably put it in my dress pocket, just in case._

I pulled one of the bottles out, and held it in front of my face. I stared at the bold letters, which were written out, 'Pepper spray'.

I suddenly began to think about Teki. His creepiness has annoyed me ever since his personality changed six months ago, and what was worse was that Matako said that he might be in love with me. If that's true, then I might throw up.

My eyes closed as a sigh escaped my lips. I put the small bottle in my dress pocket, and ran for home.

* * *

**You know that feeling when you don't know how to end a chapter? Yeah, I didn't know how else to end this chapter.**

**Anyway, I did a bit of research for pepper spray (Since the law for those varies in different countries), and in Japan, there're no laws against possession or use, but using it could result in imprisonment depending on the damage caused to the target (Yep, I copied it from Wikipedia. LOL). By the way, the only anime I've actually seen pepper spray in is "Peach Girl".**

**I know the Teki-at-his-house scene was a little disturbing, but I wanted to "show" you what his house was like.**

**Hope you enjoyed chapter 7! :)**


	8. Old friends and secrets

**Enjoy!**

**Sisi427: Actually, I've been contemplating on whether or not to bring Shinsuke into this story, but I decided to bring him into this chapter. :) And yeah, some people really need to know how to write ****_actual _****constructive criticism. -.-" Yes, I accept criticism (Because it helps authors improve their writing), but that person decided to write a fucking flame. It didn't even look like criticism, no matter how carefully I read it (Which is why I deleted that so-called "review")! I don't think I've ever been this offended and insulted in my entire life (Yes, Dilemma, you really have offended me. Wake-up call, my ass!)! But, as much as I want to complain, I don't want to annoy you, so I should probably stop my rambling. Though, I honestly don't think my overall writing, characters, and plot (Even though I will admit I'm not the best at writing plots) are bland or unsophisticated (Not that I'm trying to brag here)...**

* * *

**Two months later…**

Throughout the past two months, I've been seeing Bansai more often. We've seen each other at least once every few days, which was pretty surprising to me, because I definitely didn't expect that. But the most surprising part about me seeing Bansai was that I've barely been angry with him (Though he angers me occasionally). But just because I hadn't been that angry with him during these few months, that didn't mean I trusted him. I wanted to trust him, but I wasn't completely convinced yet. And I thought of Bansai's question when we met at the coffee shop, the day after I apologized to him.

"_What can I do to make you trust me?"_

That was actually a good question. What _could_ he do to gain my trust?

Usually, I trusted people if they don't lie very often (Though so far, besides family, Matako and Mutsu are the only people I actually trust), but Bansai was a _different_story. Sure, he mentioned that he very rarely lies, but apparently, that wasn't enough for me to trust him. Perhaps the reason why I'm not convinced is because he listens to his music (Loudly) all the time – especially when we see each other – which cause people to yell at him in order to get his attention. When I try to get his attention, however, I just snap my fingers in front of his face. Still, I felt bad for those people.

Anyway, I was at work, sweeping hair into a dustpan. When I was finished, I picked up the dustpan, and dumped the hair into the garbage can.

Matako tapped my shoulder, and I turned around, asking, "Yes?"

Matako replied, "Michiru-San, since there're no customers here at the moment, I want to give you this."

She held what looked to be a present. I widened my eyes at the small box, and then gazed at the blonde. I asked, "Is this a present?"

The woman nodded, "Yes. I know your birthday was weeks ago, but I never had the time to actually get your present until a few days ago."

My birthday was actually September 7th, so that was a little over two weeks ago. Oh well, I didn't mind having "late gifts".

I grabbed the gift, and "examined" it as I raised a red brow. Matako chuckled, "Go on, open it."

I ripped the paper off, and then pulled the lid off of the box. As soon as I saw what was in the box, my mouth agape.

It was a cellphone tag, and on the tag said the word, 'Friendship'.

I gazed at Matako, and she asked, "Well, do you like it?"

I smirked, "It's very nice. Thank you, Matako-San."

"Anytime," She smiled.

I took out the tag, and threw the box and paper in the garbage. I also took out my cellphone, and put the tag on it.

_I'll definitely keep this. This is one of the best presents I've ever gotten._

I put the phone back into my pocket, and asked off-topically, "Is Setsora-San coming to work today?"

Matako shook her head, "He didn't call me, but I'm fairly certain he won't come, since it's already 11 o'clock."

I looked at the clock, and frowned. Ever since Matako and I told Teki our problems with him, he hardly came to work. He came here at least once every week for the past two months, but even then, he ignored us, and shut himself in his office all day. Yes, I still hated him, but I began to wonder why he was still angry at us. Was it because we told him the truth? Would he prefer lies such as, 'You're the best boss ever!' or 'You're so amazing; I would hug you!'?

No, just no. There was no way I was going to tell him anything like that. If he was still friendly, like he was when I first met him, I still wouldn't have called him the best boss ever, but at least I wouldn't have hated him so much.

I sighed, and asked sarcastically as I crossed my arms, "Gee, why am I not surprised by that?"

Matako replied, sighing as well, "Setsora-San should at least accept the truth. He is a creep, and he should _know_ that."

"Apparently, he doesn't want to hear the truth."

Matako shrugged, "That's his problem, then."

As soon as she stopped talking, we heard the door open. We – plus Mutsu – turned our heads, and saw a man with purple hair, with an eye-patch over his left eye.

Matako snapped her eyes wide, and her cheeks started to flush. I thought, arching a brow, _Why is Matako-San blushing?_

She gave the man a huge smile, and dashed towards him as she exclaimed, "Shinsuke!"

I quickly realized, _Wait, is this the guy Matako-San likes?_

Matako almost gave him a hug, but the guy, named Shinsuke, gave her a glare, and told her, "Don't hug me, Matako. You know I don't like hugs."

Matako frowned, but nodded, and stood beside him. She introduced him to me, "Michiru-San, this is Shinsuke Takasugi. I went to high school with him, along with Bansai-Senpai."

"Wait, Bansai's friends with that guy?"

"Yeah. Is there a problem?" Matako asked, giving me a suspicious look.

I shook my head, and answered, "No, I was just a little surprised, I guess."

Matako rolled her eyes, but said to Shinsuke, "Shinsuke, this is Michiru-San. She's my friend."

"Friend, huh?" Shinsuke chuckled. "I thought you had trouble making friends."

Matako frowned at him, but Shinsuke added with a smirk, "I'm just kidding. You take things way too seriously, Matako."

I rolled my eyes at the man, and asked him, "Would you like a haircut, sir?"

"Yes, actually," Shinsuke answered, but added in a darker tone, "I just want a trim, so don't cut my hair too short."

I frowned at his tone, but nodded, "Please take a seat, sir."

Shinsuke sat down in one of the chairs, and I put a "cape" on him. He growled, "Do I _really_ have to have this on me?"

_Why does he have to be so rude? Apparently, he doesn't get a haircut very often._

I calmly informed him, "Yes. Would you rather have hair on your clothes?"

Now it was Shinsuke's turn to frown. When he didn't say anything, I smirked, and began trimming his hair.

I turned to Matako, and asked, "Is he always like this?"

"He's not always rude, though he's a pretty cold person," Matako admitted.

Shinsuke glared at her yet again, but Matako ignored his expression, and muttered, "I need to go to the bathroom."

With that, she went into the bathroom, and locked the door.

Shinsuke snickered, "How long have you been friends with Matako?"

"For over a year. Why?" Matako just told me Shinsuke's a cold person, so I was kind of wondering why he asked me that.

Shinsuke smirked a bit creepily (Though, thankfully, not as creepy as Teki when he smiles), "Matako was a loner back in high school. At first, I wasn't interested in her, but one day, I saw that she was beating up a few guys, who were trying to hit on her. I told her that she's a tough person, and I decided to let her hang out with me and Bansai."

I blinked, and thought, _How strange._

Matako eventually exited out of the bathroom, and she went to the sink, turning on the water. She washed her hands, and when she was done, she turned the water off, and walked over to me.

I looked at her through the mirror, and she asked Shinsuke, "How's your haircut going so far, Shinsuke~?"

Shinsuke clenched his teeth, and it looked like he was about to snap, but before I could let him do that, I smiled at my blonde friend, and politely asked her, "Matako-San, could you get me a spray bottle from the storage room?"

She widened her emerald eyes, but nodded, "Sure thing." Matako winked at Shinsuke, and ran towards the storage room.

Shinsuke muttered, "Were you trying to defend me?"

"No," I replied as I carefully cut his bangs. "I only did that, because I didn't want you snapping at her, plus I really do need a spray bottle."

The purple-haired man chuckled in a high tone, "You probably wouldn't want to see me snap, anyway. I can get a bit _violent _whenever I snap."

I frowned once again, but mumbled, "You really are a cold person."

"Tell me something I don't know," Shinsuke joked.

Matako returned, and gave me the spray bottle as she smiled, "Here you go."

"Thanks," I murmured as I took the spray bottle. I held it behind Shinsuke's head, and sprayed some water on his hair.

Shinsuke almost immediately flinched, and I rolled my eyes as I began to comb his hair.

Shinsuke snarled, "Did you really have to do that?!"

"Haven't you ever gotten a haircut before?" I rhetorically asked, feeling like I wasn't going to tolerate his attitude anymore. "I have to wet your hair down a little; that way, it'll be easier to comb your hair."

"I have gotten a haircut before; I just haven't gotten one since I was a kid."

"How do you have your hair short, then?"

"I cut it myself. What do you think?" He asked as if I was acting stupid.

Alright, that does it. I wasn't going to tolerate it anymore.

Without warning the man, I gripped his hair, and asked in a low tone, "Sir, you should _never _talk to an employee like that. Don't be a smart-ass, okay?"

Shinsuke grabbed my hand that was gripping his hair, and he started squeezing it. He squeezed it so tightly; it was starting to hurt.

As I shut my eyes in pain, Shinsuke growled, "And _you_ shouldn't treat your _customers_ like _that_. Now, how about you let go of my hair, so that there won't be any problems?"

Although I was still angry at him for being rude to me, I slowly let go of his hair, and he let go of my hand. I put the spray bottle and scissors down on the counter, and rubbed my hand as I thought, _That bastard! He didn't have to squeeze my hand so hard!_

Matako walked to me, and asked quietly, "Are you okay, Michiru-San?"

I nodded, but whispered, "I'm fine." I stared at my hand, and saw how red it was.

Matako frowned, and touched my hand with the tip of her finger. Without alarming me, she pushed her finger, pressing it into my swollen flesh.

I flinched, and hissed, "Ow! Don't do that!"

"Sorry. I was just wondering how painful it was." Matako pulled her finger away from my red hand, and added, "I think you should put some bandage on your hand."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm pretty sure."

A sigh escaped my lips, and I headed for Teki's office. Yes, that was where the bandages were.

If Teki was here, I would've just said 'fuck it', and not bother to wrap the bandages on my hand. But, he wasn't here, so I was safe. And by that, I mean I didn't have to feel uncomfortable going into his office.

Speaking of which, I entered his office, and paused, gazing my eyes around the small room. I realized that it has been quite a while since the last time I came into Teki's office. The last time I was in here, his room was mostly organized – though he once told me that he wasn't a very organized person – and spotless.

Now, it was really messy. Papers were everywhere on his desk, crumbled papers were on the floor, and even a picture was on the floor.

Gazing at the picture, I slowly walked towards it, and picked it up. I held it in front of my face, and what I saw in the picture was him and his sister hugging. Back when I started working here, Teki told me that he had a sister, and he said that his sister was a very shy person. He also said that he would introduce her to us sometime, but so far, he hasn't done that. I wasn't even sure if he was _ever _going to introduce her, because he changed into a different person. And for some reason, I never bothered to ask what her name was. Perhaps I should've done that a while ago, but oh well.

Anyway, I furrowed my brows slightly, and set the picture on Teki's desk before opening one of the drawers. I spotted the first-aid kit, and half-smiled as I took it out of the drawer. I then opened up the kit, and saw the roll of bandages.

I looked at the hand Shinsuke squeezed, and frowned when I saw that it was still red. I thought, clenching my teeth a bit, _Jeez, how hard did that bastard squeeze?! Was he trying to give me a bruise?! Wait, hands don't get bruises…never mind that!_

I quickly shook my head, and pulled the bandages out. I began to wrap my hand, when all of a sudden, I heard Matako calling me.

"Michiru-San, would it be alright if I finished up Shinsuke's haircut?"

I stared at my friend, and sighed, "Yes. But just remember that he only needs a trim."

"Gotcha." Matako walked away just as I finished wrapping up my swollen hand. I put the kit back into the drawer, and closed it before I walked out of the office.

After closing the door behind me, I saw Matako trimming Shinsuke's hair. She looked like she was having a good time, because she was smiling, and giggling like a little girl. I rolled my eyes, but chuckled at the scene.

Matako finished within moments, and she took off the "cape" as she said, "All done~! What do you think, Shinsuke~?"

Shinsuke stared at his reflection, and smirked, "It's not the best, but I still like it."

"Good~!"

Shinsuke stood up from the chair, and went to the front counter. Matako ran towards the cash register, and as soon as she was at the counter, the man gave her the money, for the cost of his "haircut". Matako put the money in the cash register, and said with yet another smile, "Have a nice day, Shinsuke~!"

The man rolled his eye, but snickered, and left "Hair Plus".

As Matako was staring off into space, I walked towards her, and snapped my fingers right beside her ear.

Matako blinked, snapping back into reality. She turned to me, and asked, "Did I just stare off into space?"

"You did," I chuckled, giving her a grin.

Matako flushed in embarrassment, and I decided to ask her, "Is that the guy you have a crush on?"

Her cheeks turned redder, and she scratched the back of her neck, mumbling, "You could say that…"

Mutsu told the blonde as she swept the hair off the floor, "Just admit it. We don't really care."

"Mutsu-San!" Matako glared at the woman.

I sighed, and answered for her, "Yes, Matako-San likes that guy."

"Hm," Mutsu hummed as she dumped the hair in the garbage.

I landed a hand on Matako's shoulder, and said, "Don't be mad at Mutsu-San. She's just not into guys."

Matako questioned as her blush started to fade away, "How do you know that?"

"Mutsu-San told me."

"It's true," Mutsu pointed out.

Matako sighed as I let go of her shoulder, "I need some fresh air."

I arched a red brow, and reminded her, "But it's raining out."

"I still need some fresh air."

Matako stood outside of the small building, and leaned her back against the wall. It was a good thing we had a hood on the building; otherwise Matako would get all wet.

I sighed, and decided to leave her alone for now.

**-3rd POV-**

Teki lied on his couch, feeling more miserable than ever. Even after two months, he was still pissed off at Matako and Michiru, and what frustrated him even more was that he still couldn't come up with a plan. How was he going to make Michiru and Matako pay for "talking back" to him? Would he have to torture them by bringing them to his house? No, Matako and Michiru weren't naïve. They knew better than to just go to his messy house.

Would Teki have to stalk them to their houses (Because he never knew where they lived), and then try to hurt them? That could be possible, though Matako or Michiru would most likely spot him.

Too many suggestions were running through his head. He gripped his hair, and yelled in his head, _WHY THE FUCK CAN'T I COME UP WITH A PLAN?!_

Just as he was about to rip his hair off, he heard a knock at the door. He raised a black brow, and stood up from his couch, now walking to the door.

As soon as he was at the front door, he opened it up, only to see one of his "friends".

Teki smirked, "What're you doing here?"

The man at the door replied, "I came to give you this."

He handed Teki a pipe, which was used to smoke crack-cocaine. Teki's smirk grew wider, and nodded his head as he said, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it. See ya." With that, the man left.

Teki closed the door, and locked it as he stared at the glass pipe. He walked back to his couch, and the moment he sat down, he pulled out his lighter, and flicked it. Since Teki could tell that there was already a little bit of crack-cocaine in the pipe, he lit the pipe, and began smoking.

As he breathed in, his eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he thought, _Oh, yeah…this is too fucking awesome. I haven't had crack in three freaking months!_

Teki started smoking crack-cocaine almost nine months ago. At first, he thought it was horrible. But his so-called "friend" told him that he would get used to it after some time. Teki smoked a little more before actually getting used to the crack, and ever since then, he's been sort of addicted to it. What a shame. He used to be so friendly when he first met Matako, Michiru, and Mutsu. Now, he's a crack whore.

Teki was lost in his own world. In his mind, various colors were roaming around while Teki was running around on a field of grass. He laughed like a maniac while drool suddenly trailed down the corner of his mouth.

He had his arms out, and as he was starting to sing _horribly_, he noticed a little boy, who was also running in the grassy field.

Teki widened his eyes, and stopped running as soon as he was a few feet in front of the boy. The boy also stopped, only he didn't look as shocked as Teki.

The black-haired man asked, frowning, _"Who are you? Can't you tell this is my field?"_

The boy rolled his eyes, and told him, _"It's my field too."_

Teki snorted in amusement, _"When did this field belong to you?"_

"_Isn't it obvious? I'm you, old man."_

Teki frowned again, only this time, he was confused. He arched a brow, and asked, _"How can you be me? I can't suddenly meet my child-self."_

"_That may be true, but since you're currently lost in your old world, you can."_

The man clicked his tongue, and replied, _"Touché."_

Little Teki gazed at the various colors above them, and said, _"Anyway, I was glad I found you."_

"_What do you mean?" _Teki asked.

"_I wanted to tell you something."_

"_Spit it out, then!" _Teki demanded, growing impatient.

Little Teki rolled his eyes, and responded, _"Stop smoking crack. You're making your life a living hell."_

Well, Teki did _not _expect that.

He widened his eyes, and exclaimed, _"What the hell did you just say?!"_

"_I said stop smoking crack,"_ Little Teki repeated. _"It's not good for your health, you know."_

"_S-So what?! I can smoke crack all I want! I'm an adult now!"_

"_It doesn't matter what age you are; your health is going to be at risk if you don't stop smoking that stuff."_

"_What the fuck do you know about crack?!"_

Little Teki shook his head as he replied, _"Didn't you remember what mom and dad told you? They once told you that smoking in general was bad. Apparently, you've completely forgotten about that."_

"_Tch, I was only a kid back then! I thought smoking was bad, but when I started smoking crack, I realized that it helps calm me down."_

The little boy sighed in frustration as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, _"You may think it's calming you down, but you'll realize at some point that it will affect your body in MANY ways. Heck, smoking crack is one of the reasons why your personality has changed!"_

Teki denied as he crossed his arms, _"You don't know jack shit!"_

Little Teki knitted his brows, and exclaimed, _"You know what, I give up! There's no point in trying to convince you anymore! Have fun destroying your life!"_

Teki snapped back into reality, and gasped, accidentally inhaling the smoke from the pipe. He coughed a bit violently, and punched himself in the chest as he yelled, "D-DAMMIT!"

His cough eventually died out, but he growled, "How the fuck did I meet my child-self?!"

The man rubbed his eyes, and thought, _One minute, I was lost in my own world, and the next minute, my child-self told me to stop smoking crack! What the fuck?!_

Obviously, Teki was utterly shocked.

He angrily sighed, but began to think, _You know, come to think of it, if my health is at risk, then I won't be able to torture Matako or Michiru, because I'd most likely be in the hospital._

Teki stared at the pipe, and bit his lower lip as he added, _I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think should stop smoking this for now. I love smoking crack, but I don't want to end up in the hospital if I end up having lung or heart problems._

He got up from his couch, and went to his room, where he put the pipe on his nightstand. He didn't want to stop smoking, but if he didn't want his body to be "destroyed" before he had his revenge on Matako and Michiru, then he had no choice but to stop…for now.

Teki ran his fingers through his hair, and went back to the living room.

**At the music store**

Bansai entered the music store, and when the owner noticed him, he gave him a huge smile, and exclaimed, "Kawakami-San! How's my favorite customer doing today? I haven't seen you in a while!"

Bansai was the owners' "favorite" customer, because when Bansai showed him his guitar-playing skills, the owner was so amazed and impressed. In his opinion, no one was better at playing the guitar than Bansai.

The teal-haired man answered as he set his guitar on the counter, "I'm doing good, though two of my guitar strings broke, I daresay."

"Is that so?" The owner raised a brow at the guitar case. He unzipped the case, and as soon as he pulled out the guitar, he saw the two broken guitar strings.

A frown appeared on the owners' face, and he asked, "How did this happen?"

"I'm not quite sure, I daresay," Bansai shrugged. "I was practicing on my guitar, and the strings just suddenly broke."

"Hm…" The owner carefully picked up the guitar, and informed him, "…I'll replace these strings, then. It'll take about five minutes."

Bansai nodded, allowing the cheerful owner to do so.

A little more than five minutes later, he finished replacing the steel strings, and he gave the guitar to Bansai as he smiled, "All done!"

Bansai took the crimson-colored guitar, and put it back into the case as muttered, "Thank you."

"Anytime!" The owner cheered, still having a silly smile on his face.

Bansai hoisted the case strap on his shoulder, and left the music store.

The musician eventually returned home, and he gave out a sigh as he decided, _I'll watch some T.V. I want to see what's on the news._

He grabbed the remote, and sat down on the couch as he turned on the television, and changed to the news. Although he was watching T.V., he turned up the volume in his headphones, blocking any outside sounds.

Despite the fact that he couldn't hear anything other than the music playing in his headphones, he was able to understand what the people on the news were saying (Yes, he was apparently a lip-reader).

There wasn't anything special on the news, except a brief mention of Tsu Terakado. The newsman said, "Earlier today, the famous pop-star, Tsu Terakado, accidentally fell down a flight of stairs at the music studio. It appeared that she was drunk when she fell down. So as of now, she's in the hospital with a broken leg. Her mother has been trying to put her music on hiatus, but Tsu Terakado wouldn't allow that, because she didn't want to disappoint her fans."

A chuckle escaped Bansai's lips, and he thought, _That's what happens when you get drunk. If you're by a flight of stairs, then you're most likely going to fall down, I daresay._

He watched the news for a few more minutes before deciding to turn the T.V. off. Aside from Tsu's news, _nothing_ was interesting. Bansai sighed, but all of a sudden, his phone started to ring.

He pulled his phone out, and opened it up. When he found out that Tsu was calling him, he laughed. One moment, he was watching news about Tsu breaking her leg, and the next moment, she was calling him, probably to inform him about her being the hospital. Coincidence? Probably not.

Bansai answered the call, and asked as he pulled a headphone off of his ear, "Hello?"

Tsu sighed depressingly, "Tsunpo, I broke my leg today. This stinks."

Bansai tried to not laugh again, because if Tsu heard it, she would find it "insulting", because there was nothing to laugh at a broken leg. Then again, it _was_ her own fault for falling down the stairs.

Anyway, Bansai replied, "I know. I saw it on the news just now."

"You did? Dang it, now I feel humiliated."

Bansai raised a brow in slight confusion, and asked the pop-singer, "Why do you feel humiliated?"

"Because I didn't want my accident to be on the news. Great, now my fans are going to worry," Tsu pouted.

"Well, when you're a famous pop-star, it can't be helped."

Tsu grumbled inaudible words, and she yelped, "Oops! I have to get going! My mom just came into the room, and she doesn't-"

Her mother interrupted her, "Tsu! I thought I told you to not call people while you're in this room! You need your rest!"

"Gotta go! Bye, Tsunpo!" No sooner after she said that, she hung up the phone.

Bansai pulled the cellphone away from his ear, and stared at it as he could only hear the long beep. He laughed once again, and closed his phone, putting it back into his pocket.

He muttered, "Well, that was an interesting phone call, I daresay."

**-Michiru's POV-**

**Hours later…**

I sat down on the couch at home, reading 'Drama Queen vs. Regular Queens'. Mika finished reading it weeks ago, so she allowed me to read it. I was only halfway through the book, but so far, it was rather…weird.

This was probably the weirdest book I've ever read, because there were a few parts in the story that made me think, 'What the fuck?'. For example, in one part of the book, the main character – whose name is Ana – grabbed a piano, and smacked it into her friends' body, where her friend was still alive. I had a feeling that this book wasn't supposed to be very realistic. Perhaps it was supposed to be more like a "gag" book, since this was a comedy.

Anyway, as I turned a page, my phone started to ring. I gazed at my phone, and picked it up before setting the book down. Before I opened up my phone, I stared at the tag Matako gave me today. I smiled at it, but noticed that if I didn't answer the call soon, the caller would hang up.

So I opened my phone, and answered without even bothering to see who was calling me.

I asked, "Hello?"

The caller replied, "Hello, Michiru-San."

My eyes widened in utter shock at the voice.

IT WAS BANSAI!

My jaw dropped in disbelief, and I exclaimed, "How the hell did you get my number?!"

Bansai answered, "Matako told me, I daresay."

I smiled angrily, and thought as my left brow twitched, _Dammit, Matako! Why did you have to tell Bansai my number without my permission?! I don't even trust him yet!_

Deciding to not take my anger out on Bansai – since it was actually Matako's fault for telling him my number – I said as calmly as I could, "Is that so?"

"Yes. By the way, Michiru-San, why do you sound so angry? Did Matako-San not tell you she gave me your number?"

Great, so much for trying to calm down.

I sighed, "No, she didn't. Apparently, she forgot to tell me." Although I was still pissed off, I eventually calmed down (Sort of), and added, "Anyway, what do you want?"

Bansai asked, "I called to see if you wanted to go to Suginami with me on Saturday. You have Saturday off, right?"

"Er, yeah…" Why did Bansai want to go to Suginami with me? Did he want to show me some stuff, since Suginami's a big "city"?

I decided to ask him, "But why do you want me to go to Suginami with you?"

"Because I lived there throughout my childhood – and teenage – years, so I want to give you a 'tour'. I'm pretty sure you've been there before, but I want to show you where I went to school, and where my mom lives…well, where my mom and I _used _to live. But other than that, we can also just look around the city, I daresay."

I bit my lower lip, and started contemplating on whether or not to hang out with Bansai on Saturday. Although I didn't trust him yet, I didn't hate him as much as I did when I first met him.

When I didn't reply, Bansai only said my name through the phone, "Michiru-San?"

"I'm thinking!" I said.

I tapped my chin multiple times, and gave out a sigh before deciding, "Alright, I'll go to Suginami with you on Saturday. And you're right, I've been there before; I just haven't been there in a while."

"I'm going to guess that you didn't live there during your childhood?"

I admitted, "No, I lived in Kyoto when I was a child. But anyway, since Saturday's only two days away, where do you want me to pick you up?"

"How about the music store?"

"Alright, then. I'll see you on Saturday. Bye." With that being said, I hung up.

I put my cellphone on the couch, and thought, _Why does he want me to pick him up at the music store? Does he not want me to know where he lives? Wait, that can't be it._

I shook my head, and went back to reading.

* * *

**Now you know one of the reasons why Teki changed into a different person! *gasp* There're more reasons, but they won't be revealed until later on. :O And I know Matako usually addresses Shinsuke as "Shinsuke-Sama", but since "Sama" means "Lord" or "King", I felt that it wouldn't be right if I made Matako address him with the honorific of "Sama" in this story (Since it is AU).**

**Anyway, Michiru and Bansai will be hanging out in Suginami in the next chapter (And we'll see if Michiru will actually trust Bansai. ;)). By the way, I was originally going to make them go to Tokyo, but I found out that Tokyo's just the prefecture (Plus Hinode is in the prefecture, so yeah, I felt stupid there. XP). Yeah, I was ****_really _****lost. Actually, I'm still lost. ._. Anyway, Suginami is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo (If you don't know what that means, then look on Wikipedia).**

**Hope you enjoyed chapter 8! :)**


	9. Hanging out is fun, right?

**I realized that I have trouble with the dialogue in this story. *Cricket sounds* Well, enjoy!**

**Ikara: I'm not exactly sure if that's supposed to be a compliment or not (I'm not trying to be rude), but thanks, anyway. :) And you're right about the latter comment, because I'm _slowly _improving my writing. XP**

* * *

**Two days later…**

It was Saturday, and not only was it my day off; I was going to spend some time with Bansai in Suginami today. He told me that he was going to show me where he used to live, and where he went to school (From Kindergarten to High school, of course). We were also going to just hang out, so it wasn't like I was only going to get a "tour".

Bansai called me not too long ago, and he informed me that he was going to wait for me at the music shop at 11:30. I still didn't quite understand why he wanted me to pick him up at the music shop, when I could've just picked him up at his house or apartment. Did he not want me to see what his place looked like? If so, was it because his place was messy? Well, even if his place was messy, I would hope that it wasn't as disorganized at Teki's office at work. Teki's office was probably the _most_ disorganized place I'd ever seen. When I went in there to get the first-aid kit, his office was so disorganized; it was unbelievable.

I wondered if Teki's house was worse. Then again, I didn't really care, so I shouldn't worry about that.

Anyway, I checked the time on my phone while I was brushing my teeth, and saw that it was 11:20. I had about ten minutes before I needed to get going, so I quickly finished brushing my teeth.

I spat the toothpaste out, and rinsed my toothbrush out before putting it in the cup by the sink. I then wiped the toothpaste off of my mouth with a hand towel, and left the bathroom.

Mika leaned her back against the wall, and asked me as she crossed her arms, "How long are you going to be gone?"

I stared at my twin sister with a raised brow, and asked back, "Just for a few hours. Why?"

"I was thinking you should bring your pepper spray with you; in case any weirdos try to hit on you."

A soft chuckle escaped my lips, and I replied, lifting a finger up, "Thanks for reminding me, Mika."

I ran into my room, and grabbed the pepper spray from my nightstand. I put it in my dress pocket, and thought as I patted the pocket, _I can't believe I nearly forgot my pepper spray._

I left my bedroom, and ran toward the front door as I said, "I'll be back tonight!"

"Be safe," Mika told me.

I nodded, and grabbed my purse before putting my slippers on. My hand rested on the door handle, and I pushed it down, opening the door.

I eventually exited my house, and as soon as I closed the door, I gave out a sigh, and said to no one in particular, "Alright, time to pick Bansai-san up."

I ran towards my car, and put my hand in my purse, searching for my car keys. I stopped the second I was in front of my car.

It only took a few seconds before I actually found my keys. Sighing with relief, I opened up the car door, and got in.

I realized that I haven't been driving my car very often. Perhaps it was because I haven't been out much. Hell, I don't even drive to work. Well, actually, that was only half-true. The only times I've actually driven to work were rainy days, since I didn't have any umbrellas. My work wasn't that close to home, anyway.

I put the key into the ignition, and turned it. The car started, and I half-smiled as I thought, _Okay. Let's go!_

Right after my thought, I began driving to the music shop. It was a good thing I knew where it was; otherwise I would probably get lost.

After a few minutes, I spotted the music store. And as I expected, Bansai was there.

He bounced his head, and I immediately knew that he was listening to Tsu Terakado's music. I rolled my eyes, but pressed the wheel lightly. The car gave out a honk, and Bansai turned his head, seeing me.

He walked towards my car, and I unlocked the passenger door, but before Bansai came in, he tapped the window. At first, I was confused on why he was tapping the window, when I clearly unlocked it. But I soon realized that he wanted me to roll down the window.

I pushed down the window-rolling "button", and when the window opened, Bansai told me, "I'd like to drive."

I frowned, and asked, "Why?"

"Remember that I told you I was going to give you a 'tour' of my old house, plus the schools I used to go to?"

"Yeah…" I trailed off.

"Well, I think it'll be much easier if I drive; that way, I won't have to give you directions, I daresay."

My frown deepened, but I sighed, "Fine, you can drive. Though…you do know how to drive, right? Because I've never seen you drive a car."

Bansai laughed, "Of course I know how to drive a car. I just don't have one of my own, because I can't afford one yet."

"I see. Anyway, get in," I told him as I got out of the drivers' seat. I walked around the car, and got in the passengers' seat as Bansai got in the car as well.

We both closed the car doors, and Bansai and I buckled out seatbelts. Bansai grabbed the wheel, and pushed on the gas break before driving away from the music store. We were now driving to Suginami.

While Bansai focused on driving, I chose to ask him, "Just out of curiosity, why did you want me to pick you up at the music store?"

No answer.

I glared at him, and thought, _How is it that he heard me talking to him when I picked him up, but couldn't hear my question just now?! He didn't even touch his headphones when he got in the car!_

I was thinking of snapping my fingers in front of his face, but because he was the one driving, I couldn't do that. The last thing I wanted was to block his view with my hand, and have him accidentally drive into a pole.

So without any other choice, I took a deep breath, and shouted at the top of my lungs, "BANSAI-SAN! I WAS TRYING TO ASK YOU A QUESTION!"

Bansai turned his head slightly, and raised a teal brow as he informed me, "Michiru-San, I wasn't listening to music just now."

_Well, fuck. Now I've humiliated myself._

My cheeks flushed in embarrassment, but I pouted, "You should've responded before I yelled at you, then!"

"Hm? Were you trying to ask me something?"

"WHAT THE FUCK?! IF YOU WEREN'T LISTENING TO MUSIC JUST NOW, YOU WOULD'VE HEARD MY QUESTION!"

Bansai just stared at me, not saying a word.

I sighed irritably, and practically repeated my question, "Never mind that. I was asking why you wanted me to pick you up at the music store."

He gazed at the road in front of us, and _finally_ answered, "Because I didn't really feel like telling you where I lived, plus I figured you'd know where the music store is."

I frowned once again, and replied, "That doesn't make much sense! Do you not want me to know where you live?! I already said that I wouldn't tell anybody about your music career!"

"That isn't the reason why I didn't tell you my address."

"Well, what is it, then?" I demanded, crossing my arms as I glared at him once more.

Bansai shrugged, "I just didn't feel like telling you, I daresay. Though, I'll show you my place sometime."

Without thinking, I asked, "Is your place messy and unorganized?"

I widened my eyes at my own question, and thought sarcastically as I furrowed a brow, _Gee, what a great question to ask, Michiru._

Bansai answered, "No. Although I am always busy writing lyrics for Otsu-Dono, I don't like unorganized and messy places, so I make sure that my place is clean and organized every day."

My lips parted as I thought, _Wow, I'm surprised he didn't ask why I asked him that._

But my surprise was cut short, because Bansai asked back, "Why do you ask?"

_Okay, he decided to ask after all._

I sighed, narrowing my dark-blue eyes, "My boss is apparently a _very _disorganized, and messy, person. I went into his office two days ago, and saw that it was so messy; I felt like I was going to get dizzy." Okay, that may have been a bit exaggerated, but I don't like really messy places, so…yeah. I can handle disorganized places, but messy places are a different story. When someone is as messy as Teki, it proves that they're too lazy to clean up.

Bansai arched a brow, and replied, "Is that so?"

"Yeah," I murmured. "He had all this paper on his desk, and he also had crumbled pieces of paper on the floor. Hell, there was even a picture there!"

"On the floor?"

"Yes! I didn't know why it was on the floor, but I picked it up, and put it on the desk; that way, it wouldn't accidentally get stepped on, and crushed."

I rubbed my forehead, and added, "Sorry for complaining. I'm just frustrated at my boss, that's all."

"Apologizing is unnecessary, I daresay."

"Huh?"

"While you were talking about your boss, I was listening to your song. Your song sounded like a pop song being sung by an angry woman."

I scowled, "Is that supposed to be insulting?"

"It may sound insulting, but it actually isn't, I daresay."

I stared at him in confusion. I was expecting myself to get angry with him (Since I get angry whenever I'm confused), but shockingly, I wasn't angry at all. I just stared at him, frowning for the umpteenth time.

I shook my head, and rested my cheek in my palm as I stared out the window.

Over a half an hour later, we arrived in Suginami.

Bansai stopped in front of a streetlight, and the light turned red. People were walking across the street, and while we were waiting for the light to turn green, I asked Bansai, "When was the last time you visited this 'city'?"

Without looking at me, he answered, "Probably a year and a half ago. Before my mother got lung cancer, I used to visit her once every two weeks."

"I see." That was all I could say.

"When was the last time _you _visited this place?"

"Huh?" I questioned, but then tapped my chin with the tip of my index finger. After a few seconds of silence, I answered, "Probably…almost a year ago. I don't clearly remember."

"Hm," Bansai hummed.

The light in the stoplight turned green, and Bansai drove again. He drove for a few more minutes before parking in a parking lot.

I blinked, wondering where he parked at. I turned my head around, and saw that we were by some sort of mall.

I stared at Bansai, and snorted in amusement, "What're we doing at the mall?"

"I was thinking of getting my mother a present. It's not her birthday, but I want to give her something very special," Bansai sighed.

Without thinking, I asked, "Is it for her funeral?" When I realized what I said, I touched my lips, and added, "Shit! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to ask that! It just slipped!"

"No need to apologize," He sighed once again. "I was beginning to think that she would die soon, anyway."

My eyes snapped wide, and my jaw dropped as he added, "If she dies before I visit her again, then I'll give her present at her grave."

"Bansai-san!" I exclaimed. "Why're you saying _that_?! Don't you care about your mother?!"

"I _do _care about my mother! Don't you _dare_ ask me that!" He snapped as he smacked his palms into the wheel, which caused me to flinch.

I gasped, and thought, _Oh, no. I think I better stop talking._

But even when I was silent, Bansai took off his seatbelt, and growled, "Just because I thought negatively, doesn't mean that I don't care about my mother anymore!" Suddenly, he leaned towards me, and I widened my dark-blue eyes as I leaned back on the car door.

Bansai landed his hands on the door, and he muttered, "How would _you_ like it if someone asked _you _that question while one of _your_ relatives had cancer? Huh?"

My shoulders began to shake, and I whimpered as sweat formed on my forehead, "I-I'm sorry…I-I didn't m-mean it like that…"

Bansai leaned in closer, and he was so close, that our noses nearly touched. He whispered, still sounding angry, "Next time you decide to talk about my mother, try not to say _anything _about her cancer. Do you understand me?"

My eyes gazed at his lips, and I thought, _Why do I feel scared all of a sudden? Dammit, I spoke too much. I'm such an idiot._

I really was an idiot. Why did I decide to ask if he cared about his mother? God-fucking-dammit, I was so stupid. And why was I still staring at his lips? Was it because he was so close to me, that I didn't want to look at him in the eyes (Not that I could see his eyes, but that wasn't the point here)? Or was it because…I wanted to feel his lips with mine? Wait, that didn't make any sense! I wasn't in love with him…or was I?

I hesitantly nodded, and whispered back, "Y-Yes…"

Just as I thought he couldn't lean in any _more _closer, he did, but only by a few centimeters. It looked like he was about to kiss me…NO, that can't be it! Why would he even do that when he's obviously angry at me?! He doesn't love me! Or…does he?

Bansai added, sounding quieter than before, "Good. You're lucky your song remained the same."

I didn't understand what he meant by that, but since I was too terrified to say anything, he leaned away from me, and opened the car door as he said in his normal tone, "Anyway, let's go."

He got out, and I could tell he was waiting for me, because he was standing beside my car. I snapped back into reality, and unbuckled my seatbelt before leaving the car as well. Bansai handed me my keys, and I pressed the button to lock the doors.

I stared at my hands, and scolded myself in my thoughts, _Why am I still shaking?! I'm not terrified of Bansai, but what he just did scared the crap out of me!_

Bansai asked, "Are you coming or not?"

I gasped, "Y-Yeah!" I ran towards Bansai, but I decided to be a few feet away from him. I wanted to be away from him, because his action from a moment ago still freaked me out.

Bansai arched a teal brow, and asked, "Are you still shocked at what I did in the car?"

At first, I didn't want to answer his question – because I had a feeling that he was listening to music – but unfortunately, he said my name in a cold tone, "Michiru-san."

I yelped, but nodded quickly.

Bansai sighed for the umpteenth time, "Look, Michiru-san, I didn't mean to get angry. But if you didn't ask if I didn't care about my mother anymore, then that wouldn't have happened."

"B-But I didn't ask if y-you didn't-"

He lifted a hand up, signaling me to be quiet. "I've heard enough. How about we change the subject, so that I won't have to snap again?"

I furrowed my red brows, and felt my cheeks flushing in embarrassment. No, scratch that. I was embarrassed _and _humiliated! And it was all _my_ fault! Goddammit, I just wanted to hit myself so badly for making him angry…

I hesitantly nodded, and muttered, "Yes."

Bansai changed the subject by asking me, "Now…do you live alone, or do you live with somebody?"

_Why did he have to ask me this question first?_

Deciding to not ask that out loud – he was angry enough about his mother dying – I answered, but realized that I was starting to stutter, "A-Actually, I just l-live with my sister."

"I see," Bansai quietly said as we were heading for the mall.

I asked back, "Wh-What about you? Do you live a-alone?"

"I do live alone, actually. I live in an apartment."

"Aren't you lonely sometimes?"

"Why?"

"Well, you said you lived _alone_, and from the looks of it, you don't seem to have very many friends, besides Matako-san and that Takasugi guy."

I was starting to get over my embarrassment from a few minutes ago, but I was a little scared that Bansai would snap.

Thankfully, though, he didn't snap. He calmly answered, "Not really. Otsu-dono always calls me to inform me that she has new ideas for lyrics, so I'm not _that_ lonely, I daresay."

"Oh," I muttered.

We entered the mall, and when I saw the inside, my eyes widened in shock. I didn't expect this mall to look _huge_! Sure, the building looked big, but the inside looked bigger.

My mouth agape, and I was apparently spacing out, because Bansai snapped his fingers in front of my face. I blinked, and muttered, "Eh?"

"You were staring off into space," Bansai informed me. "Haven't you been here, before?"

My cheeks flush once again, and I admitted as I rubbed the back of my neck, "Well, no, actually. I rarely ever shop." A nervous chuckle escaped my lips as a drop of sweat rolled down my cheek.

_Why am I getting embarrassed about this?! It's not like it's a big deal!_

Bansai replied, "Really?" I nodded. He hummed, and turned up the volume in his headphones as he started walking away from me.

I sighed, and followed him once again.

I thought, feeling a little relieved, _Okay, if I just don't say anything, then he won't get mad. He's listening to music, so he won't be able to hear me, anyway._

With that, I walked about a meter away from Bansai, and tried to ignore him. He was probably ignoring me as well, but I didn't care.

Anyway, the first shop we entered was a gift shop. Since Bansai mentioned he was going to get a present for his dying mother, it would make sense why he decided to come here first. Though, I was sort of wondering what kind of gift he would get her. The only thing I said – correction, _asked_ – was if it was for her grave. I knew it was rude for me to ask, but it was an accident. And hey, accidents happen, right? At least Bansai forgave me. Otherwise I would've gotten on my knees – then again, we _were_ sitting in the car, so I couldn't exactly get on the ground – and begged for forgiveness (Although I _rarely _ever do that).

We looked through the gift shop, and one of the employees' asked, "Is everything good?"

I nodded, but Bansai didn't respond to the employee. He frowned, but I informed him, "He's listening to his music."

"I see. That explains why he's not responding." A sigh escaped the employees' lips, and he looked at us before smirking, "Are you two on a date?"

I yelped, and exclaimed as my cheeks turned red yet again (Seriously, how many times was I going to have red cheeks today?!), "No! Nothing like that! Just because I'm a woman, and he's a man, doesn't mean we're dating!"

He raised a brow, and replied, "Are you sure? 'Cause you two seem like an _adorable_ couple~!"

A vein throbbed in my forehead, and I stomped towards the employee with an angry smirk on my face.

He blinked nervously at me, and as soon as I was in front of the man, I grabbed his shirt, and growled, "Don't _ever_ call us an adorable couple. We're _not_ a couple, and if you ever _say _that to us again, I'll stuff your mouth with _this_." I showed him my fist, and he gave me a frightened look.

He whimpered, "P-P-Please don't punch m-m-me! I-I-I won't ask that ever again! At least to y-y-y-you t-two!"

I sighed with relief, and let go of his shirt. I unclenched my fist, and said, "Sorry about that. I just hate it when people get the wrong idea. Say…you're not going to kick me out just for that, are you?"

"N-N-Not if you d-d-d-don't do that to m-m-m-me a-a-a-again!" He whimpered again, but hid behind the cashier.

I rolled my eyes, and heard Bansai say, "Michiru-san, your song went a bit violent, I daresay. Why did you get violent towards that poor man?"

"He thought we were a couple, when we're clearly _not_."

"You did realize he was joking, right? You could've played along."

I glared at the teal-haired man, but he ignored me, and went back to "shopping". Did he even hear us? Wait a minute, he was most likely hearing my so-called "song". Yeah, that could be it.

I thought, still feeling angry at that employee, _Dating, my ass! We're not a couple! I don't even love Bansai!_

Right after my thought, I could feel my cheeks burn _again_. My eyes widened, and I touched my burning cheeks with my hands.

_What am I blushing for this time?! I don't have feelings for that weird man!_

It seemed like the more I denied, the hotter my face was. It was really weird.

I shook my head violently, and yelled in my mind as I shut my eyes tightly, _Why can't I stop blushing?! I don't love him! Or do I? Dammit, now I'm confused!_

I grasped my hair, and before I could rip it off, a hand landed on my shoulder. I flinched, but quickly turned my head around, seeing Bansai.

He informed me, "I'm going to buy something now, I daresay."

For some fucking reason, my blush wouldn't go away. However, I huffed as I averted my gaze away from the man, "You do that." I didn't even bother looking at what he was getting. But despite that, I was actually kind of curious as to what he was going to buy.

Sigthing, I stepped out of the gift shop, and leaned my back against the wall as I crossed my arms, waiting for Bansai.

A moment passed, and Bansai exited the gift shop. I arched a red brow, and curiously asked, "What did you get?"

He held a small purple bag, and answered, "A cherry-scented candle."

I raised my brows in slight surprise (Though I already knew he was going to get a present for his mother), but Bansai added in a low tone, "It's for my mothers' funeral."

My brows furrowed, feeling even more sympathy for the teal-haired man. I wanted to say something, but since I didn't want to anger him again, I decided to stay silent.

Bansai muttered as he stared at the bag, "Cherry is my mothers' favorite kind of candle."

I bit my lower lip, and said, "I'll be right back. I have to use the bathroom."

He briefly nodded, and I ran towards the women's restroom.

As soon as I entered the bathroom, I halted in front of the mirror, and rested my palms on the sink counter.

My head drooped down as I thought, _"For his mothers' funeral"? His mother's not even dead yet! Does he really think she's going to die soon?!_

I narrowed my eyes, and lifted my head up as I added in thought, _He's thinking negatively._

I clenched my fists on the counter, and knitted my brows as I gave out a sigh. I leaned back, and decided to leave the bathroom.

Eventually, I returned to Bansai, and said, "Sorry I took so long."

He waved it off, "It's not a big deal, I daresay."

Bansai began walking, and I followed behind him.

**Two and a half hours later…**

After walking through the entire mall, Bansai and I spotted what looked to be a dancing group. I raised a brow, and thought, _Why's there a dancing group in the middle of the mall? In fact, when did they even get here?_

I shrugged my shoulders, and was about to walk pass them, but Bansai grabbed my wrist.

I turned my head to see him, and asked, "Why'd you stop me all of a sudden?"

"We should dance, I daresay."

"HUH?!" I practically yelled in shock as Bansai started walking towards the group of people dancing. And since he was still holding onto my wrist, I was forced to go with him.

I grumbled inaudible words under my breath as I thought, _I don't want to dance. I'm not even a very good dancer!_

We stopped as soon as we were in front of the group. A woman, who was playing a big drum, noticed us, and smiled, "Would you two like to dance?"

I pulled my wrist away from Bansai's grip, and answered politely, "No, thank you. I'm just watching."

Bansai also answered, "Yes, we would like to dance." He looked at me, and told me, "Let's dance, Michiru-san."

I deeply frowned at him, and scowled, "No, I don't want to dance! I suck at dancing!"

I was pretty sure Bansai rolled his eyes, because he said, "Have you even danced before?"

I was kind of taken aback by this question, because I didn't remember _when_ was the last time I actually danced.

When I didn't answer him, Bansai smirked, "That's what I thought. Just dance for a few minutes; I'm sure you'll have fun."

"Have fun with _what_?! You humiliating me?!"

"How would I be humiliating you?" Bansai questioned in confusion.

I put my hands on my hips, and replied while glaring at the musician, "By hovering over me, or trying to trip me."

Bansai laughed, "I'm not going to try to humiliate you. Trust me, Michiru-san; humiliating people is _not _what I do."

"Why do you want to dance, anyway?" I asked him a bit suspiciously.

He shrugged, "It's good exercise, I daresay."

I rolled my eyes, "Are you saying I don't exercise very often?"

_Well, that's actually true. I don't exercise that much, but I walk to work a lot, so does that count?_

Bansai grabbed my wrist again, but this time, he forcefully pulled me, making me stand _very _close to him. I yelped, "What the hell?! Don't pull me so close to you!" I glared at him, but felt my cheeks growing warm. Oh, boy. How many times has my face been red today? Four? Or was it five? Never mind; that's not important.

Anyway, Bansai replied as he turned me around, "You're about to dance with me, so you're _supposed_ to be close to me."

"Oh. That makes sense the- wait, WHAT?! Who said I was going to dance with _you_?!"

"I did. Now dance with me," He ordered me as he held my hands. He also lifted them up, and we twirled around. To me, this was _already _awkward. I was fairly certain Bansai didn't feel awkward as well, but I wanted to get off of him _now_. And unfortunately, I had a feeling that Bansai wouldn't let go of me anytime soon.

He spun me around (Which made me dizzy almost immediately), and let go of one of my hands. I was about to pull my hand away, but Bansai immediately pulled me back, and wrapped his other arm around my back. He forced me to lean back, and if his arm wasn't around me, then I would've fallen on the ground.

My face became very close to his', and I hissed quietly, "Don't you dare kiss me."

He grinned, "As if I would want to kiss you."

I rolled my eyes, and pushed his arm away from my back. I stood up straight, but Bansai _still _wouldn't let go of my hands.

He suddenly brought his lips to my ear, and whispered, "I'm not letting you go until our dance is done."

My blood was starting to boil, but I asked as calmly as possible through clenched teeth, "When _will _our dance be done?"

"By the time the music's done playing."

I could feel a vein throbbing in my neck. I screamed in my head, _begging_ for the music to stop playing already. I was uncomfortable when I started dancing, but I was _more _uncomfortable when Bansai decided to get too close to me. And the closer he got, the more likely I was going to punch him in the face. But then again, that would be very rude of me to do so, and it would also cause the tune in my "song" to go flat. Hold on, why the _fuck _did I just say that?! Why do I care about my "song" going flat?! I'm not like Bansai! I can't understand peoples' feelings as well as Bansai! Hell, I don't even listen to as music as Bansai (Actually, I'm not a huge fan of music in general)!

While we continued to dance, my brow twitched uncontrollably. I gave him an angry smile, and he chuckled at my expression.

I thought, _Oho, you're going to laugh at my angry smile?! I'll show you who gets to laugh when I try to humiliate YOU!_

For the truth, I didn't want to humiliate him, but since he was laughing at my angry expression, I was ready to snap.

So I put a hand on his shoulder, and whispered in his ear (Or rather, headphone), "I'll show you who gets the last laugh."

"Hm?"

I smirked, and tried twisting his wrist, but Bansai pulled his wrist away, and set it on my shoulder. Frowning in confusion, Bansai squeezed my shoulder. Wait, correction, he was squeezing my shoulder a bit _too_ hard.

I clenched my teeth in pain, and thought as my eyes nearly rolled to the back of my head, _M-M-My shoulder…it hurts! He's so s-s-strong!_

A man, who was dancing as well, asked us, "Are you two okay?"

Bansai turned his head to the side, and answered, "We're fine. We don't dance very often, so our dancing's a little off, I daresay."

_Y-Y-You're squeezing my shoulder t-t-too h-h-hard, dammit! My shoulder blade is about to b-b-break!_

The man raised a brow, and asked, "Do you want me to help you?"

"No, thank you. I got it under control."

"Alright then."

Bansai went back to me, and muttered, "If you're trying to get away from me, it's not working. I'm stronger than you are, I daresay."

I wanted to reply to him, but I couldn't form any words, because the pain in my shoulder was unbearable. Drool started to trail down the corner of my mouth as I panicked, _P-P-Please get off of me! You're REALLY hurting me!_

When my body started to shake, Bansai arched a brow, and murmured, "It looks like I'm squeezing your shoulder too hard. I better let go of you; that way, you won't have a broken bone."

He finally let go of my shoulder, and I immediately rubbed it, mumbling, "Ow."

Bansai told me in a mutter, "You shouldn't have tried to escape."

_Goddammit. That hurt like hell. I deserved that, though._

I frowned, "Sorry. I'm just not comfortable dancing!"

Bansai chuckled quietly, "The music's done, anyway. You can stop now."

"What…?"

_The music's over already? Guess I wasn't paying much attention._

He let go of my hands, and asked, "Should we get going?"

I responded, "Yes…"

Bansai started heading out of the mall, but I just stood there, not doing anything. People were packing their instruments, also ready to get going.

I narrowed my eyes, and thought, _At least I wasn't humiliated._

Bansai called out my name, "Michiru-san!"

I snapped back into reality, and ran after Bansai.

We left the mall, and as we were heading over to my car, Bansai snickered, "Did you enjoy dancing with me, Michiru-san?"

I scowled, "As if! I told you, I didn't want to dance! But you practically forced me to dance with you! I don't get you at all, Bansai-san."

All he did was chuckle. I rolled my cerulean eyes at him, and unlocked the car doors.

Before I actually got in the car, Bansai reminded me, "Oi, Michiru-san. I still need to drive."

I just remembered that Bansai hadn't showed me his old house yet, so I nodded, and went to the other side of my car.

He got in the drivers' seat, while I got in the passengers' seat.

I pulled my keys from my purse, and gave them to Bansai. He put the key in, and as soon as my car started, he drove away from the mall.

He spent a few minutes driving, and eventually, he said, "Look over there." Bansai pointed at something, and I looked at where he was pointing at. I saw a green house, with a black rooftop.

I asked, staring at small house, "Is this where you used to live?"

Bansai nodded, "Yeah. This is my old house, I daresay." He gave out a sigh, and added in a more quiet tone, "It brings back so many memories."

Without adding a second thought, I asked, "Do you think your mother's going to have to give up on the house?"

I immediately covered my mouth, and regretted asking that.

I furrowed my brows, but Bansai answered, "She gave it up more than six months ago. Because of that, someone else lives there now."

"Oh." I uncovered my mouth, and bit my lower lip as the silence was getting awkward.

My throat clogged up as I yelled in my head, _Why is the atmosphere getting heavy all of a sudden?!_

Bansai sighed once more, and said, "I should probably show you my old school now."

I nodded my head, and as Bansai drove again, I looked at the house once more, and placed my fingertips on the window.

_I wonder how his mother feels about giving up the house._

We hung out in Suginami for a couple more hours before we realized that it was starting to get dark. I looked at my phone, and saw that it was almost eight o'clock.

We were on our way back to Hinode, and as Bansai was gazing his eyes on the road (Yes, he was _still _driving), his phone suddenly started to ring.

He pulled out his phone, and informed me, "Michiru-san, I'm going to need to pull over."

"Good idea," I chuckled as Bansai drove to the side.

He turned the car off – but still kept the key in the ignition – and opened up his phone before answering it.

The man pulled his headphones down, and set the cellphone on his ear as he asked, "Hello?"

I stared at Bansai, wondering who was calling him. My first guess was Tsu Terakado, but I found out I was wrong, because Bansai frowned deeply. My second guess was Matako, but I was, once again, wrong, because Bansai replied to the caller, "I see. Thank you for calling me. Bye."

He hung up, and closed the phone. Bansai paused, now looking like he was lost in space.

I quietly said his name, "Bansai-san…?"

He clenched his teeth, and slammed his fist into the wheel, making it honk. I flinched, and Bansai angrily muttered, "The doctor just called me…"

"Huh?" Okay, now I was getting a bit worried.

Bansai gripped his teal hair, and replied, "He told me that…my mother passed away this morning."

That's when my eyes widened in utter shock. My mouth agape, and I thought while furrowing my brows, _His mother passed away? And he mentioned about his mother dying earlier today…_

I thought it was incredibly weird how Bansai was saying that his mother would die soon, and yet, his mother died this morning. I didn't know why, but this was actually pretty creepy.

I wanted to comfort Bansai – despite him angering me when he forced me to dance with him – but he didn't look like he wanted comfort, because he was banging his fists on the edges of the wheel in anger.

I leaned my back on the car door, and said hesitantly, "Um…I-I think I should leave you alone u-until you've calmed down."

"NO!" Bansai hollered, making me yelp. "You stay here!"

A drop of sweat rolled down my cheek as I stared at the angry musician. He leaned his forehead on the top of the wheel, and growled, "I can't believe it…"

The atmosphere got heavy again, and as sweat formed on my forehead, I thought, _The atmosphere…is so heavy!_

I put my hand over my mouth, and felt a lump form in the back of my throat. The silence was starting to get too awkward, and the deadlier the silence was, the heavier the atmosphere became.

Bansai started the car again, but without warning, he sped away from the side, and drove on the road a bit too fast.

I snapped my eyes wide, and managed to speak, but I panicked, "B-Bansai-san! What do you think you're doing?!"

He didn't answer. He just grasped the wheel, and clenched his teeth as if he was about to attack someone.

This was probably the angriest he had ever been. At least, to what I've seen.

I grabbed his jacket sleeve, and shouted, still panicking, "Don't drive too fast! Do you want to get pulled over by the cops?!"

He eventually slowed down, but since he was still on the road, he didn't stop driving. Bansai sighed, "No, I don't want to be pulled over by the cops. But I was driving fast, because I was frustrated."

"I don't blame you at all for being frustrated, but that's _no _excuse for speeding, especially when you're driving _my _car!"

Bansai was finally able to calm down. I stopped panicking as he replied, "You're right, Michiru-san. And I apologize for yelling at you a moment ago."

I sighed, "It's fine."

Bansai didn't say anything else. He put the yin-yang headphones back on his ears, and continued to drive. I was glad we weren't pulled over by a policeman, but when Bansai was speeding, it scared the living crap out of me.

My rapid heartbeat slowed down, and I sunk into the seat as I thought, _If we were pulled over, I would've been infuriated._

I crossed my arms and legs, and looked outside the window, seeing the moon. A few clouds were blocking the moon, but I was still able to see it.

Another sigh escaped my lips as I added in thought, _Although Bansai irritated me a bit today, and he also got angry at me for asking if he didn't care about his mother, I don't regret hanging out with him._

* * *

**Yes, I took a little long to get this chapter done ****(I'm not going to apologize, though, because it hasn't been _that _long since I've updated this.)**, but the reason why was because I wrote the lemon for this - though there's going to be more than one lemon-chapter in this story - and when I finished, it was...pretty long. It was around 9,200 words (By the way, don't you _dare _say that "It's over 9000!" reference, because I'm _sick and tired _of hearing/reading that reference! I swear, it's probably the most cliche reference ever!)...anyway, the lemon will be up in a few chapters, so until then, be patient. XD

**Hope you enjoyed chapter 9! :)**


	10. Following someone is wrong

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Bansai and I finally came back to Hinode. Neither of us had said a word since he found out his mother died this morning. Although Bansai looked calm, I could tell he was still angry.

Bansai drove in front of a tall building – which I assumed it was an apartment complex – and said, "This is where I live."

I gazed at the building, and blinked as I thought, _It looks…really nice._

Bansai unbuckled his seatbelt as he said, "Well, I should get going. Bye, Michiru-san."

"Bye," I murmured. He got out of the car, and I also unbuckled my seatbelt. I got out, and ran to the drivers' seat. As soon as I was in the drivers' seat, I closed the door, and put on my seatbelt.

I held the wheels, and then drove away.

As I was driving back home, I began to think, _I can't believe Bansai's mother died. And how Bansai got angry…god, that was terrifying._

**-3****rd**** POV-**

Bansai entered his not-so-big apartment, and the moment he closed the door behind him, he paused, thinking of the phone call he received not too long ago.

_Why did my mother have to die? No, scratch that. Why did my mother have to smoke in the first place?! It makes no sense!_

He leaned his back on the door, and slowly slid down. He sat down on the floor, and tilted his head as he looked at the small bag. Bansai pulled out the cherry-scented candle, and while he stared at it, he added in thought, _My mothers' life was short-lived. I'll never see her again._

The teal-haired man clenched his teeth, and felt water forming in his eyes. He rarely ever cried, but because of his mothers' death, he let the tears escape. Tears rolled down his cheeks, and he took off his sunglasses as he set the candle down. Bansai wiped his eyes with his jacket sleeve, but it was barely helping, because more tears poured down his face.

He wanted to scream in anger and sadness, but he couldn't for two reasons. One: his throat was clogged up, due to the fact that he was starting to have a meltdown. And two: he didn't want his neighbors to come by, and ask what was wrong with him. He didn't want to explain that his mother passed away, because if he did, his heart would ache in pain. Even if he were to try to explain about his mothers' passing, his throat would still clog up, preventing him from saying anything.

Bansai wanted to stop crying, but he couldn't, because more and more tears streamed down his red face. He buried his face in his hands, and as his palms were covered by his own tears, he choked, "Mom…why did you have to kill yourself by smoking too many cigarettes?!" It was Reiko's own fault for getting lung cancer, but Bansai wished he could've stopped her a long time ago. Of course, it was too late. He couldn't help her anymore. She had already gotten lung cancer, and she had already _died_ from lung cancer. If only Reiko's friend didn't tell her to smoke when she got frustrated all those years ago. Bansai wished that cigarettes never existed, because then, his mother would still be alive, and healthy. Reiko would be at her house, having some coffee with her friends. She would also be laughing at a joke, or even just smile. Bansai wished he could see her smile again. Was that really too much to ask? Wait, maybe it was, because she was now dead.

The musician narrowed his eyes, and stared at his wet palms. As his vision became blurry from the tears still in his eyes, he thought, _I want to stop crying, but I can't, because this is so heart-breaking._

Tears dripped onto his pants, and his hands started to shake as he clenched his teeth once again. He became so angry; he wanted to throw something. No, he wanted to _break_ something. He desperately wanted to pick up a glass cup, and throw it at a wall. But, Bansai didn't want to cause a mess, so he decided against it. Besides, breaking a glass cup would be a waste of money.

Bansai picked up his sunglasses, plus the small candle and bag, and stood up, taking off his shoes. He then walked through the living room, and headed towards his bedroom.

As soon as he entered his room, he put on his sunglasses, and set the red-colored candle on his nightstand. No, he wasn't going to light it. He decided that he was only going to light it when he visited Reiko's grave. Besides, one candle was enough, and that candle was his big, round one, which was white.

He lit his round candle, and sat down on his bed while taking off his jacket. Bansai managed to stop crying, but his eyes were now red.

Bansai tossed his jacket onto the chair, and thought, _I should probably make some dinner. I'm getting pretty hungry._

He left his room, and walked towards the kitchen.

Moments later, he started cooking his dinner. He was going to have a steak, with some vegetables (Because vegetables are good for you).

While he was making sure the steak wouldn't burn, he thought about what Michiru said when he told her that he lived alone.

_"Aren't you lonely sometimes?"_

He narrowed his eyes, and gazed at his steak as he also remembered, _"From the looks of it, you don't seem to have very many friends, besides Matako-san and that Takasugi guy."_

Bansai gave out a sigh, and thought, _She's right. I don't have many friends. The only friends I do have are Matako-san and Shinsuke._

Bansai actually didn't care if he had very few friends. But, he had to admit that he was sometimes lonely, because he hardly ever sees his friends. Shinsuke lived about 30 miles away from Hinode; as for Matako, he sees her more than Shinsuke, but they still don't see each other very often.

When his steak was done, he turned off the stove, and put the piece of meat on a plate. He also put some vegetables on it, and soon, he went into the dining room.

Bansai sat down, and while he was cutting the steak with his sharp knife, he gazed at the other chair, and pictured his mom being there. An imaginary Reiko poked her fork into a piece of steak, and complimented, _"This steak is delicious, son."_

He widened his eyes as his lips parted. He lifted his hand up, and was about to reach for his mother, but the picture faded away.

The musician furrowed his brows, and rested his hand on the table as he thought, _Did I just forget that she's dead?_

He bit his lower lip, and all of a sudden, tears were threatening to escape again. Bansai wasn't surprised that he was about to cry again, but he believed that the more he cried, the weaker he was. Sure, everybody cried, but Bansai hated crying in front of others. Luckily, though, he lived alone, so no one would see him crying right now. Still, though, he didn't want to look weak.

No tears escaped his eyes this time, but his eyes started to burn. Bansai cursed under his breath, and walked back to the kitchen to get a napkin. When he got that, he wiped his eyes, getting rid of the tears.

Bansai sighed, and went back to the dining room table. He sat down once again, but this time, he quickly cut up the steak, and stabbed a piece with his fork. He ate it, and thought, _I wish my mom could taste this steak. It used to be her favorite food, I daresay._

He stared at his food for a moment before gazing in another direction. For some reason, Bansai started thinking about Michiru again. He rested his cheek in his palm as he thought again, _I really shouldn't have yelled at her when I was driving back home. Then again, I was furious when the doctor told me about my mothers' passing._

The man sighed for the umpteenth time, and continued thinking about the redheaded woman. He was still a bit angry at Michiru for asking if he didn't care about his mother, but he would have to forgive her at some point, because she didn't mean it like that.

There was one thing he liked about Michiru, though. He liked Michiru's toughness. Michiru wasn't the kind of person who would let things get in her way, and she would also take things seriously.

He was also thinking about her "song". To Bansai, her "song" sounded like a vague, but calm folk song. Her "song" tended to vary (But not frequently), but Bansai didn't mind that, as long as Michiru's "song" didn't grow boring or flat.

Bansai ate the rest of his dinner, and soon, he finished up. He went to the sink, and cleaned up the plate and silverware. He then dried them up, and put the plate in the cupboard. Bansai also put the fork and knife in the drawer.

As soon as that was taken care off, he ran his fingers through his teal hair, and thought of something else.

He was now thinking about earlier, when he danced with Michiru.

Part of Bansai thought it was pretty ridiculous for him to dance with Michiru, since he very rarely danced, but he didn't exactly regret it. In fact, he enjoyed dancing with her (But it was still ridiculous). He didn't quite get how or why he enjoyed it, but again, he had no regrets. Though, he was starting to question himself.

Why did he want to dance with her in the first place? Did he want to humiliate her, since she didn't like to dance? No, no, that's not it at all. Bansai would never humiliate anyone, let alone Michiru. Did he want to try out his dance moves? Pfft, as if. Bansai was never really into dancing, which was why he rarely did it.

What was the reason, then?

Bansai couldn't quite understand himself. He entered his bedroom once again, but this time, he lied down on his comfy bed.

He lied on his side, facing the wall. As another Tsu Terakado song started to play, his mind was still focused on Michiru. Bansai wanted to forget about her for now, but no matter how hard he tried, Michiru still entered his mind. It wasn't like it bothered Bansai; he just couldn't understand why he was still thinking of her. Did he…have a soft spot for her? No, that couldn't be it…

Although he wasn't with Michiru right now, he could still hear her tune. Bansai narrowed his eyes behind his dark sunglasses, and thought as he gave out a soft chuckle, _Apparently, I can hear her song, even when we're far away from each other._

**-Michiru's POV-**

**Three weeks later…**

Three weeks have passed since Bansai and I hung out in Suginami. We haven't talked to each other very much since that day, but I guess it was because he was so angry and sad about his mothers' passing.

Anyway, I was at work, washing my hands. As I was cleaning my hands, I saw someone entering "Hair Plus". I turned my head to the side, and saw a man with curly brown hair. He was wearing sunglasses, so I couldn't tell what color his eyes were.

Mutsu raised a brow at the man, and asked, "Sakamoto-san, what're you doing here?"

The man laughed, "What does it look like?! I'm getting a haircut! Ahahahahaha! My hair's getting a little too long!"

Mutsu rolled her eyes, and introduced him to Matako and I, "Matako-san, Michiru-san, this is my somewhat friend, Tatsuma Sakamoto. He's an optimistic idiot."

The man, named Tatsuma, replied, "Aw, you're so mean, Mutsu-san! Ahahahahaha!"

Matako and I were getting a little irritated by his laugh. Matako tried asking politely, "Excuse me, but could you please stop laughing? It's getting a little annoying."

Tatsuma shook his head, "But laughing is good for you! Ahahahahaha!"

I rolled my eyes, but told him, "Please sit down wherever you like."

Tatsuma sat down in one of the chairs, and Mutsu said, "I'll cut his hair."

Matako and I nodded, letting Mutsu cut his hair.

Matako turned to me, and asked quietly, "Michiru-san, do you think Bansai-senpai is feeling alright by now?"

I told Matako about Bansai's mother passing away three weeks ago; she was pretty shocked.

I arched a red brow, and answered, "Matako-san, it can take a little while for someone to get over their relatives' death."

Matako didn't say anything. She just stared at me, wanting an actual answer. I sighed, "I'm not sure. I haven't seen him very often during the past three weeks. I want to comfort him, but I have a feeling he doesn't want me to do that."

Matako suspiciously raised a brow at me, and asked, "Michiru-san…do you like him? I mean, as in 'like-like'?"

I frowned, but my cheeks started to burn. I averted my gaze away from the blonde, and muttered, "I…I don't know…"

_I want to say, "I don't like him", but for some reason, I can't form those words._

I rubbed the back of my neck as Matako stared at me intensely. A smirk crept up her face, and she said as she pointed her finger at me, "Your face is turning red."

"Sh-Shut up," I murmured as I crossed my arms.

Matako landed a hand on my shoulder, and told me, "Just admit it. You like him."

I pushed her hand away, and snarled, "Didn't I just tell you to shut up?!"

Mutsu gazed at us, and told us with a hint of annoyance, "You two; don't distract me. I don't want to accidentally cut Sakamoto-san's flesh."

I noticed that Tatsuma's sunglasses were off. His sunglasses were on the table in front of him.

Since I could see his eyes, I found out that the color of his eyes were blue. And to tell you the truth, he actually looked better without his sunglasses.

Mutsu averted her gaze from us, and suggested Tatsuma, "Sakamoto-san, you need to get rid of those goofy-looking sunglasses."

Tatsuma frowned, "Why should I? I love my sunglasses! Ahahahahaha!"

Mutsu rolled her eyes, but continued to cut his hair.

About ten minutes later, Mutsu finished, and said nonchalantly, "There you go. Hope it's not too bad."

Tatsuma put his sunglasses back on, and exclaimed, "Thanks for the haircut, Mutsu-san! Now I look better than ever! Ahahahahaha!"

Mutsu replied, "Actually, you look more idiotic than ever."

"Why do you have to be so mean?! I thought you were my friend! Ahahahahaha!"

She rolled her eyes yet again, but changed the subject by saying, "Anyway, pay up."

Tatsuma and Mutsu headed for the counter, and as soon as Tatsuma gave her the money, Mutsu put it in the cash register, and said, "Have a nice day, and don't let Oryou kick you in the balls again." Although she said that, she sounded like she didn't give a crap.

I frowned, and asked, "Was that really necessary, Mutsu-san?"

"Yes," Mutsu immediately answered.

I face-palmed myself as Tatsuma left "Hair Plus". Matako asked the woman, "Who's Oryou?"

Mutsu explained briefly, "She's Sakamoto-san's love interest. Or at least, _lust _interest. Sakamoto-san has been asking her – no, _telling_ her – to marry him, but she keeps kicking him in the nuts. I don't blame her, though. Sakamoto-san's an idiot, after all."

Matako rolled her emerald eyes, but looked at the clock, and informed us, "I think it's time for us to close."

I looked at the clock as well, and realized that she was right. I ran to the door, and switched the sign to "closed". Mutsu swept up the hair that was on the floor as Matako and I grabbed our purses.

Matako said to Mutsu, "See you tomorrow, Mutsu-san!"

"See ya," Mutsu replied without looking at either of us.

I waved at the woman, and walked out of the small building.

As we were walking away from "Hair Plus", Matako decided to ask me, "Michiru-san, when was the last time Setsora-san actually came to work?"

I raised a brow, and asked back, "Why this question all of a sudden?"

"Because it felt like it's been a while since he actually came to 'Hair Plus'."

I held my chin, and began to think about Matako's words. Matako waited patiently as I tried to remember.

I knitted my brows, and answered a little slowly, "Maybe…somewhere around…two weeks ago?" I said it in a question, because apparently, my memory sucked.

Matako sighed, "He needs to return to work. He can't exactly pay us when he's at his freaking house every single day. I mean, I hate him, but he needs to pay us soon, because my rent is coming up!"

I nodded in agreement, "Yeah. My mortgage is coming up as well." I sighed in frustration, but I decided to not think about Teki for now.

I changed the subject by asking, "Matako-san…why did you decide to ask if I liked Bansai?"

She answered while shrugging her shoulders, "When I asked if you did like Bansai-senpai, you just said, 'I don't know'. That sounds like you really do have a crush on Bansai-senpai."

My heart skipped a beat as my cheeks flushed in a mixture of anger and embarrassment. I glared at the blonde, and growled, "Y-You don't know that!"

Matako frowned at me, and replied as she held her hands up, "Calm down, Michiru-san. You don't need to get angry."

A sigh escaped my lips as I ran my fingers through my long hair. "Sorry."

Matako sighed as well, but said, "Anyway, I need to get home. My parents are going to come visit me today. See ya."

"Bye." With that, I walked away from the blonde, and headed home.

While I was on my way home, I bit my lower lip, and thought, _Do I really have a crush on Bansai?_

I halted myself, and gripped the handle on my purse as I bit my lip harder.

Why did I hesitate when Matako asked if I liked Bansai? Could it be that I have feelings for him? Maybe that was the reason why I blushed so much when he and I hung out in Suginami (Plus, I wanted to comfort him so bad when he lost his mother). But, if I do have feelings for Bansai, then why am I denying it? Am I being _that_ stubborn? Apparently so.

Just as I stopped biting my lower lip, I could've sworn I heard footsteps from behind me. And those footsteps sounded…slow. My brow furrowed, and I slowly turned my head around.

When I turned around, though, I didn't see anybody.

My blue eyes blinked multiple times, and I thought, _That's weird. I thought somebody was behind me just now. Maybe it was just my imagination._

I hesitantly started walking again, but when I did so, the footsteps returned. They were getting closer, and somehow, I could smell a mixture of filthy socks, beer, and spoiled milk. The smell was foul, and I held a disgusted expression as I added in thought, _Jeez, that smell is horrible!_

I was beginning to wonder if this person _ever_ cleaned his or her clothes, because the closer the footsteps were, the grosser the smell was. I felt like I was going to throw up.

Just when I was about to gag from the intolerable stench, I felt someone grabbing my arm. My eyes snapped wide, and a loud gasp escaped my lips as I quickly turned around.

When I saw who was grabbing me, I hissed, "Setsora-san!" It wasn't all that surprising that it was Teki, but what _did_ surprise me was that his clothes smelled _terrible _as hell, plus his hair looked a bit oily. My god, when was the last time he took a shower? That's what I wanted to know.

Teki gave me a grin, and said, "I've been looking for you, Michiru-san."

I forcefully pulled my hand away, and hissed again, "Were you just stalking me?!"

"I don't think that matters," He replied in a dull tone.

I harshly glared at him, and exclaimed, "It does fucking matter! I don't think you remember this, but stalking someone is _illegal_!"

Teki rolled his eyes, and replied off-topically, "Michiru-san, I was looking for you for a reason."

Crossing my arms, I asked while still glaring at the black-haired man, "Why the fuck were you stalking me then?"

"I told you; it doesn't matter."

I thought angrily, _It does matter, you asshole!_

I told him, tightening my crossed arms, "You should've at least worn clean clothes. Maybe then, I wouldn't have felt the need to throw up!"

Teki frowned, looking offended, "That's a hurtful thing to say, Michiru-san."

"Huh?! How is that hurtful?! Would you rather have me say, 'You smell clean'? Because your clothes have the _worst_ smell ever! And also, when was the last time you cleaned your hair?! Your hair looks oily!"

"Shut the fuck up!" He snapped. I flinched a bit, but continued scowling at him, since he was getting on my nerves.

Teki pointed at himself, and started yelling, "You're _not_ my mom! I can do whatever the hell I want! And yes, I would _much_ rather have you lie to me than tell me hurtful things!"

I laughed while shaking my head, "That's just sad. Sure, the truth can be hurtful, but if I were you, I'd have to _accept_ the truth. Unlike you, I _always_ accept the truth, whether they're hurtful or not."

Teki clenched his teeth as I continued, "What the hell happened to you, Setsora-san? You used to be friendly and _way _less creepy when I first met you. Hell, you used to be a bit more organized when it came to your office! Now, you're acting like a _pathetic_ person, who denies everything! And when I saw your office a few weeks ago, I was in utter shock. Seriously, what kind of boss _are _you now?!"

Teki growled, "How dare you…I look for you, and _this_ is the kind of attitude I get?!"

When I didn't answer, Teki grabbed my upper arms, and added, "How _dare_ you talk to me like that!"

I growled back, "Why were you looking for me, anyway?! Are you going to beat me up for telling you that you creep the _fuck_ out of me and Matako-san?!"

He lowered his head, and muttered, "No…that's not the reason. The reason why I searched for you…" Teki barely lifted his head up, but screamed, "…WAS BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!"

My jaw and heart dropped when I heard those words come out of his mouth. I yelled in my head, _I can't believe it! Matako-san was right, after all! He really does love me!_

I could not believe that Matako was right after all this time. Teki loves me, which makes him a _hundred_ times creepier than ever! Is that why his personality changed?! Or are there more reasons?

Teki continued to yell, "I've loved you for over eight months, and I wanted to confess my feelings for you, but I was always afraid you'd reject me!"

I clenched my fists, and pushed his hands away as I replied, feeling infuriated, "You were _afraid_ of me rejecting you?! Don't make me laugh! You've creeped me and Matako-san for _eight goddamn months_! Did you honestly expect me to love you back?! You're out of your freaking mind, because I have _no _feelings for you!"

Teki widened his eyes, and his mouth parted as his hands were starting to shake.

I added, "If I wanted to love somebody who's a freaking creep, I'd take crack, and even inject myself with meth! Perhaps I would be high off my ass, then!"

He scowled, but snickered, "You want to hear something shocking?"

"Huh?"

"I _smoke_ crack-cocaine! What do you think about _that_?!" He laughed like a maniac.

I stared at him in complete shock, and questioned, "Crack-cocaine?! Are you serious?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

Teki shook his head, "I actually decided to stop for now, but I did that, because I want to get revenge." A smirk crept up his face, and he added in a lower tone, "I'm going to get my revenge on you and Matako for being complete bitches to me."

That must've been the _stupidest_ thing I've ever heard in my entire life! Revenge on me and Matako for telling him that he was a huge creep?! I believed he was overreacting!

I yelled, "That's _really_ stupid! You're _completely_ overreacting, Setsora-san! I think you need therapy!"

"I don't need therapy! I'm going to get my revenge on you _right now_!" Although he said that, he didn't move a muscle.

I arched a brow, and thought, _Is he not going to do anything? Wow, he must be mentally AND physically retarded now._

Teki hissed, "Tch, guess I'm not going to get my revenge on you now, but I _will_ someday!"

He turned around, and walked away from me.

As soon as he was out of sight, I sighed with relief, and muttered to myself, "Jeez, he really does need therapy!" Although I was relieved that he was out of my sight (For now), I felt adrenaline flow through my veins.

I was still shocked, and angry, to hear that Teki loved me. And when he said he was afraid of me rejecting him, I wanted to laugh my ass off, because he should know that he's the creepiest person ever. And if he expected me to love him back, he was _dead wrong_. There was no way in a million years that I would _EVER _love a freak like Teki!

And what was worse was that he admitted that he smoked _crack-cocaine_! Just how messed up is Teki's head?!

I clenched my teeth in anger, and stormed off.

**Five minutes later…**

When I finally returned home, I slammed the door closed, and leaned my back on it. I sighed loudly, and rested a hand on my forehead as I thought, _I can't freaking believe it._

I quickly took off my shoes, and decided to go to my room, because if Mika saw me being all angry (She wasn't home yet, though), she would ask what was wrong, and I did _not_ want to talk about my problem with Teki. Actually, I'll tell Mika when I've calmed down, but right now, my blood was starting to boil.

I also slammed my bedroom door closed, but this time, it wasn't on purpose. I ignored the slam, though, and dropped my purse on the floor, next to my bed. I then jumped on my bed, and stuffed my face into the blanket.

My head turned to the side, and I mumbled to no one in particular, "What the hell happened to Setsora-san?"

Suddenly, I started remembering the time, when I first met Teki.

_(Michiru's Flashback)_

_I stood in front of "Hair Plus", and as I stared at the sign, a gulp went down my throat. It wasn't surprising that I was feeling nervous, but I didn't want to feel nervous, because I didn't want the "owner", and employee's, of "Hair Plus" to give me awkward looks, and think that I was weird._

_I took a deep breath, and entered the small building, where I saw a man with black hair, and emerald eyes._

_The man noticed me, and smiled, "Are you the new employee?"_

_I nodded, "Yes."_

_He walked towards me, and asked, "What was your name again?"_

"_Michiru."_

_The man gave me a gentle smile, and reached his hand out as he introduced himself, "My name is Teki Setsora. It's a pleasure to meet you."_

_I hesitated for a moment, but then shook his hand as I greeted him, "Nice to meet you, Setsora-san." I noticed that there were two other women behind him. I arched a red brow, and decided to ask Teki, "Do those two work here as well?"_

_Teki raised a black brow, but turned around, looking at the women. He chuckled, "Yep, they work here." He cleared his throat, and introduced them to me, "The blonde woman is named Matako Kijima, and the brown-haired woman is named Mutsu."_

_They both said in a somewhat bored tone, "Nice to meet you."_

"_Right back at you," I murmured, not really impressed with their greeting. Though, I noticed that Matako and Mutsu's names both start with an "M". My name starts with an "M" as well, so I found it kind of funny._

_Teki chuckled, "I think you three will become great friends."_

_I rolled my eyes, "Setsora-san, I don't trust people that easily, so it might be a bit difficult for me to become friends with them."_

_Another chuckle escaped Teki's lips. "I think you'll at least get along."_

_I smirked, "Hopefully."_

_(End of Michiru's Flashback)_

When I met Teki for the very first time, he was pretty polite. Long before his personality changed, I couldn't say he was the nicest person I'd ever met, but he was generous.

I narrowed my eyes, and turned around, having my back on the bed. While I was staring at the plain ceiling, I began to think, _What am I going to do? I want him to go to jail, but if that happens, how am I – plus Matako and Mutsu – going to get paid? As far as I know, Setsora-san's the only person that actually pays us._

I sighed in frustration, but I just remembered something.

My eyes widened a bit as I put a hand in my dress pocket. I pulled out the small can of pepper spray, and stared at it as if it was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen (Even though I got it a while ago). I realized that I hadn't used this once since I bought this, but I didn't regret getting this. In fact, now that I have found out that Teki has (Creepy) feelings for me, I might be able to use the pepper spray on him.

If Teki tends to even _try _to do something bad to me; I won't hesitate to spray this in his face.

* * *

**Gargh, Bansai's so hard to write when it comes to romance! DX I hope he wasn't too OOC in this chapter!**

**This whole chapter was difficult to write (Don't ask why; it was just...difficult). And I'm not even sure if I have confidence for this story anymore. I'm pretty aware that this story is getting a little boring, but...I don't know. I'm such a lame person *shot*. HOWEVER, I am _not _going to cancel this story, nor am I going to put this on hiatus (I already have three stories on hiatus; I'm trying not to put another one on-hold). I'm _demanding _myself to finish this story. I don't know how many more chapters there will be, but I'm definitely going to finish this!**

***Clears throat* Anyway, I have another idea for BansaixMichiru (I've actually had it for a few weeks, actually), but...I'm a little hesitant to write it. If you want to know what my next idea for them is, you can look on my profile, and see the "Upcoming stories" section.**

**By the way, I know I made Michiru and Teki curse a lot during their "argument", but I did that, because they both tend to curse whenever they're angry (I know that's not a very good excuse, but oh well).**

**Hope you enjoyed chapter 10! :)**


	11. Defending oneself is necessary

**I wanted to post this chapter last night, but my internet kept fucking up. -.- Well, enjoy!**

**Sisi427: (Chapter 8): Oops. Guess I should've done a bit of research for guitar strings, then (I don't play the guitar). ^^; My bad. But I did change the "guitar strings" scene a bit, so it's better...I suppose. LOL (Chapter 9): Bansai and Michiru will kiss eventually. ;) Really? Once again, oops. Perhaps I shouldn't have made Bansai calm down so quickly. *face-palms myself for being stupid* I really try to not repeat the same words or phrases over and over again, but I always don't know what other words to use, and I'm afraid of using them wrongly (I need to go to thesaurus and dictionary . com more often). Sisi, there's no way I'm going to ignore your pointers, because you're right. :) (Chapter 10): Well, Teki's a freak, and he's disgusting for not wearing clean clothes. XP Apparently, Teki's the only person who does that. LOL I loved writing Sakamoto's appearance, even if it was just a cameo. X3**

* * *

After finally calming down from the anger I had not too long ago, I stepped out of my room, but heard the front door open.

I raised a brow at first, but found out that Mika had returned home. Mika gave me a small smile, and asked rhetorically, "Aren't you going to say 'welcome home'?"

I blinked, but greeted my twin sister, "Welcome home, Mika."

She chuckled, and took off her shoes before entering the living room.

Since I calmed down, I began to contemplate on whether or not to tell Mika about earlier, when I saw Teki. I chewed on my lower lip as I thought, _I think I should tell Mika. I was pissed off with Setsora-san, after all._

Mika suddenly asked, as if she had read my mind, "How was work today, Michiru?"

My left brow twitched a bit uncontrollably, but luckily, I didn't snap at my sister. Instead, I took a deep breath, and told her, "Work was fine, but while I was on my way home, I founded Setsora-san. Well, _he_ found _me_."

Mika frowned, looking a bit worried. I continued, "When he got close to me, his clothes smelled _horrible_! Seriously, they smelled so bad; I nearly threw up!"

She held a disgusted expression, and questioned, "Is that the worst part?"

"Oh, no, that's not the worst part," I replied, wishing Teki's foul clothes were the worst part. "The _worst_ part is that…oh, god, I don't know how to say this…he said he loved me!"

"Wait, what?!" Mika cried.

"Yeah, he confessed his _love_ for me! Now he's become 'Creeper the Creep Monster'! And what makes everything worse was that he admitted that he smokes _crack_!"

Mika shuddered, "This is insane…"

"I couldn't agree more…" I exhaled, and laced my fingers in my hair as I added, "I don't know what I'm gonna do now."

"Can't you just call the police, and put him in jail?" Mika suggested.

I closed my sapphire eyes, and pointed out, "If he wasn't my boss, I would've done that days ago. But I can't put him to jail, because he's the only person that pays Matako-san, Mutsu-san, and I. If he went to jail now, then we wouldn't get paid for god-knows-how-long, unless somebody were to take his spot."

The short-haired woman pouted, "That sucks. Are you still holding your canister, though?"

At first, I felt like she was trying to befuddle me. But then I realized that she was referring to the pepper spray.

I took out the small can again, and peered at it as I remarked, "Yes." My brows knitted, and I slowly looked at my sister. She furrowed a brow, and I continued, "Whenever Teki's around me, I'm going to try to be more cautious."

She nodded in agreement.

I sighed, "I'm going to take a shower."

"You do that."

I turned, and headed straight for the bathroom. I thought, _My hair's a bit greasy, anyway. Though, at least my hair wasn't as greasy as Setsora-san's. His hair was worse, and disgusting._

I came into the bathroom, and almost immediately, I started taking my dress off.

While I was stripping my clothes off, I added in my train of thought, _Setsora-san is such a freak. I think I need to tell Matako-san and Mutsu-san about this tomorrow._

Eventually, I was stripped, and I put my clothes in the small basket. I then grabbed a towel, and put it over the shower door.

I entered the shower, and slowly turned on the water. Drips of warm water started spraying from the hose, and I ducked my head under it, letting the water wet my crimson hair down.

Grabbing the shampoo bottle, I shut my eyes tightly, and squirted some on top of my head. I closed it, and set it back on the tile before scrubbing my hair.

As my fingernails scrubbed most of my hair, I mumbled, "He said he'll get revenge on me and Matako-san…how preposterous!"

I know I said it already, but I'll say it again, because I'm still pissed off. Teki was _really _overreacting. He was overreacting to the point where I thought he was acting like a child. Then again, a child wouldn't know how to use crack properly. Hell, a child wouldn't even know _what_ crack was! If I had to choose between Teki and a kid, despite my hate for kids, I'd choose the kid, because they're healthier (Unless they eat junk food non-stop, and get diabetes). Yes, I was beginning to think that Teki was destroying his health. Although he said he stopped smoking crack for now, I had a feeling he would get a heart attack sooner or later. Actually, I'm not sure if smoking crap like that gives you a heart attack – since I've never smoked it, and I'm planning to _never_ smoke that shit – but it can still damage your body, especially your lungs.

I was now starting to think of how Matako and Mutsu would react if I told them about Teki's addiction to crack (Of course, I was also going to tell them that he loves me, and there was no doubt that Matako would freak out. I wasn't so sure about Mutsu, though, since she's always calm). They'd probably be utterly shocked, like I was.

I was definitely going to tell them what happened, but I had a realization. Since Teki mentioned he was going to get "revenge" on me and Matako, would he come to work tomorrow, and try to hurt us? Well, then again, he said he would be doing that _sometime_, not tomorrow. Wait, what am I talking about? That didn't make much sense. He could be trying to get his "revenge" tomorrow, or even the day after that! Yeah, I'm gonna need to be more aware from now on.

Anyway, I finished scrubbing the shampoo in my long hair, and, once again, I stepped under the shower hose, letting the water rinse it off. I still had my eyes closed, because if I were to have them open – even by a little – I would have the risk of getting shampoo in my eyes, and my eyes would obviously sting.

I wiped the excess shampoo off of my face, and felt my hair a few times before finding out that it was completely rinsed.

I was about to turn off the shower, but I just remembered that I hadn't washed my body yet. I smacked myself in the forehead, and half-scolded myself, _Why did I forget to wash my body?! Was it because I was angry?!_

Sighing, I grabbed the bar of soap, and washed my body as I hummed a random tune. Washing my body took a little less time than washing my hair, because, in my opinion, my hair was more important than my actual body, since my hair was long.

As soon as I was done, I turned the shower water off. Drips of clear water fell from my hair, and they hit the tiles as I walked out of the shower door. I grabbed the towel that was on top, and set it over my head. I knew that people usually take baths after they've showered, but I didn't feel like taking a bath. So instead, I grabbed a robe, and put it on before leaving the bathroom. Yes, I left my clothes there, but I was going to get them later. Right now, I wanted to put on some clean clothes (Not that the clothes I was wearing were dirty, but still).

I went to my bedroom, and opened up my dresser drawer, where I took out a green dress as I pulled the robe off of my body. I would've put on my pajamas, since I wasn't going anywhere tonight, but it was almost six o'clock, and I thought wearing pajamas at six was too early.

After putting on the dress, I exited my room, and went back into the living room. When Mika saw me, she cocked a brow up, and questioned, "You're done already?"

"Yeah," I murmured, also cocking a brow up.

"You didn't take a bath, did you?"

I shrugged, "I didn't feel like it."

Mika got up from the couch, and replied, "Well, time to take _my_ shower." She snickered, and walked passed me. She went into the bathroom, and all of a sudden, she yowled, "Michiru, at least take your clothes out of the bathroom!"

I rolled my eyes, but went back to the bathroom, and grabbed my clothes from the basket. Mika glared at me, but I said a matter-of-factly, "I was going to get my clothes soon, anyway. Don't make a fuss over it."

She pouted, but I ignored her, and left the bathroom again. Mika closed the door behind me, and I huffed to no one in particular, "She didn't have to make a big deal out of it."

Shrugging my shoulders yet again, I headed towards the laundry room.

I opened up the laundry room door, and walked to the washing machine. I then opened up the lid, and was about to drop the clothes, but something clicked my mind.

I quickly pulled out the palm-sized canister, and smirked at it as I mumbled, "Heh heh, there's no way I'm going to let you go in the washing machine. It would cause too much noise, anyway."

I closed the lid as I tossed the canister up in the air. It fell back into my palm, and I stepped out of the laundry room while snickering at the small can.

I didn't know why, but I couldn't stop staring at it. No matter how much I wanted to stop looking at it, I just…couldn't. I laughed at myself, wondering why I was still boring my eyes onto the canister.

But soon, I stopped gazing at it, and let out a somewhat dry chuckle as I thought, _I feel like I'm obsessed with this can._

**The next afternoon…**

"Hey, Michiru-san, is something wrong? You've been looking angry all day," Matako curiously asked me.

Throughout the night, I've been laughing non-stop at the idea of using the pepper spray on Teki. But ever since this morning, the thought of telling Matako and Mutsu about Teki having a so-called "talk" with me yesterday made me cringe a bit. Mind you, I was going to tell them _very_ soon, but the last thing I wanted was to take out my anger on my friends (Mutsu's still not really my friend, though). So I was going to make myself be as calm as possible. I was going to try really hard to not yell or even flinch at them.

Mutsu peered at me over her shoulder while she was organizing some stuff on the counter. Apparently, she was also wondering why I looked so furious.

I took a deep breath, and managed to respond, "As a matter of fact, there _is_ something wrong, Matako-san."

Matako furrowed a brow, and had a look that said, 'Oh, no. I'm afraid to hear it, then'.

Mutsu asked, sounding extremely bored, "What is it? Did your washing machine break down?"

_What does that have to do with anything?_

That was kind of a stupid question, but it wasn't the stupidest I've ever heard.

I rolled my eyes, and answered, "No, Mutsu-san. My washing machine's fine."

I took another deep breath, and told them the issue from yesterday.

While I was telling them, I felt my heart pound against my ribcage. No, I wasn't nervous; in fact, I wasn't nervous at all. I guess my heart was pounding so roughly, because I was infuriated at Teki. My chest started to ache from the hard pounds on my ribcage, but I ignored the slight pain, and managed to tell Matako and Mutsu everything they needed to know.

As soon as I was done, I exhaled, feeling very relieved that I told them. If I waited a few minutes longer, I probably would've shrieked in anger.

I stared at their faces, and they both had shocked expressions. Matako's expression looked like a mixture of horror, pure shock, and disgust. Mutsu didn't have much of an expression, but her eyes were wide, so it was obvious enough that she was extremely surprised.

Matako stuttered, "S-Setsora-san…smokes _crack_?!"

"And cocaine, because apparently, he's addicted to both of those," I pointed out.

"A-And he's in l-love with you?!"

I nodded, "Don't worry, I'm just as shocked as you are."

Matako's hands shook tremendously, and she stared at them as if they were the most horrifying things ever. She continued stuttering, only I couldn't tell what she was saying. Yeah, she was starting to stutter badly.

Mutsu smacked the back of Matako's head, and Matako snapped back into reality. Matako murmured, "Thanks, Mutsu-san."

Mutsu said nothing.

Matako bit her lower lip a bit hard, and I frowned, wondering what was going on with her. My first thought was she was about to scream…and surprisingly, I found out that I was right, because Matako covered her mouth.

Mutsu commanded, "Cover your ears, Michiru-san."

"Oh!" I almost immediately plugged my ears with my pinkies, and in a split second, Matako gave out an ear-splitting scream. She gripped her hair as her eyes were as wide as saucers.

Wow, I didn't think she'd be _this_ petrified. Sure, I expected her to have a terrifying reaction, but I had no idea she would actually scream. Thankfully, though, there weren't any customers here. Otherwise the customers' eardrums would burst, just from hearing Matako's _loud_ scream. I actually waited all day, where we didn't have customers at the moment, because if I told Matako and Mutsu while a customer was here, the customer would've heard me, and they'd give me a what-the-fuck look. And boy, I was _glad_ I waited.

Anyway, Matako screamed her lungs out as she started pulling her blonde hair, "I CAN'T FUCKING BELIEVE I WAS RIGHT ALL ALONG! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH SETSORA-SAN?!"

I was kind of confused on why Matako thanked Mutsu for smacking her head, and yet, seconds later, she screamed as if somebody had just died.

I yelled, "Matako-san! You don't need to scream so loud! Look, you're receiving attention from outside!"

Yep, a few people outside were staring at Matako as if she was out of her freaking mind. I was hoping Matako would listen to me, but unfortunately, she continued screaming, and she accidentally ripped some of her hair off.

As Matako was still shrieking, Mutsu asked me, "Michiru-san, do you want me to hit her head again?"

Despite how loud Matako's screams were, I was able to make out what Mutsu was saying. I nodded my head at her, and Mutsu uncovered her ears as she stood beside the blonde-haired woman.

She lifted a hand up, and used the back of it to smack Matako's cheek. Matako yelped, but immediately stopped screaming.

I sighed with relief, but stated, "Uh, Mutsu-san, that was her cheek, not her head."

Mutsu ignored my comment, and Matako panted heavily as she breathed out, "Wow, I can't believe I screamed."

I unplugged my ears, and informed her, "Yeah, and you just attracted four people."

"Huh?" Matako looked confused at first, but she slowly turned around, and saw four people, who were standing in front of "Hair Plus".

Matako's cheeks flushed, and she blinked numerous times as her mouth agape. She tried to say something, but no words came out of her mouth. The only sound she could make was "Uh". It sounded like she had a frog stuck in her throat.

Mutsu peered at the people – who were all giving us concerned looks – and told them, "There's nothing to see here. Nobody got killed, or even stabbed. This woman was screaming out of anger. Move along." The woman waved her hand, motioning the people to leave.

All four of them stared at each other as Matako turned beet-red. The people eventually gave us weird smiles, and they walked away.

Matako was still breathing a bit heavily, but she closed her eyes, and said, sounding very relieved, "Well, that was really awkward."

I nodded in agreement as I sighed almost silently.

But all of a sudden, we heard a very familiar voice.

"Hello, bitches!" The voice gave out a cackling laugh, which sounded so terrible, it sounded like the laugh belonged to a murderer.

We all widened our eyes, and swiftly turned around, seeing none other than Teki.

Teki wore the same clothes as yesterday, and they smelled even more disgusting. Hell, his hair looked oilier than yesterday! As he was walking towards us, Matako scrunched up her face, and plugged her nose as she cried, "Why do you smell bad?!"

Teki snarled, "Shut up, blondy!"

"Oi! Don't call me blondy!"

Mutsu plugged her nose as well, only she didn't look as disgusted as me and Matako.

The oily-haired man stepped in front of us, and he growled as a wicked smirk appeared on his face, "You're not going to greet me?"

Matako scowled, "First of all, you just called us bitches, which is very _rude_! Second of all, Michiru-san told us that you love her, and that you also smoke crack! This makes me hate you even _more_!"

Teki snapped his eyes wide, and he harshly glared at me as he growled darkly, "You told them?!"

"Yeah!" I replied, glaring back at him. "You never told me to keep it a secret! And even if you did, I would still tell!"

He clenched his fists, and shook as he snarled, "You're gonna pay for that…"

"Huh?"

"I said you're gonna pay, you red-headed bitch!"

My eyes widened, but I wasn't all that surprised. In fact, I was _expecting_ Teki to act like this.

Teki moved his dull-green eyes to a random table, and a creepy smirk crept up his face as he stomped towards the table. Matako, Mutsu, and I watched him, and he picked up a pair of scissors.

I frowned, feeling baffled by his action.

But Teki snickered, now looking like he desperately needed a strait-jacket, "You know that I said I'd be getting my revenge someday? Well, I'm going to have my revenge _today_, which means _right this second_! I think the first thing I'll do is cut your hair short!"

A barely audible gasp escaped me, and I exclaimed, "You can't do that!"

"Oh? When I cut your hair off, I'll put it in a small box, and keep it. That way, I can rub your hair on my face, and think about you constantly."

"Stop being a goddamn creep!" Matako hollered. "That is probably the creepiest comment you've said so far!"

"It may sound creepy to you, but…I'm going to have to disagree with that. Now…" He barely turned his head, and gazed his eyes on me as he finished, "…time to start cutting your sexy hair off!"

I cringed when he said "sexy", because hair _can't_ be sexy. Sure, it can look beautiful, but it can't look sexy! It's _not_ possible!

Teki started walking towards me, and I stepped back, trying to get away from him. But of course, that wasn't helping, because he was getting closer to me.

Before he could cut my long hair with the scissors, Matako quickly wrapped her arms around his waist, and held him tightly as she clenched her teeth in anger.

When Teki noticed, he shouted, "Oi! Get off of me, you blonde skank!"

Although he insulted her, Matako ignored him, and ordered me, "Get out of here, Michiru-san!"

"Huh?! But it's not closing time! I can't leave now!" I exclaimed while glancing at the blonde.

"I don't care! Get out of here! Go home, and don't come back for the rest of the day!" She ordered once again as she tightly held Teki's waist.

Teki scolded, "Did you not hear me?! Get _off_!"

I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to leave before we closed "Hair Plus", but I refused to let Teki cut my hair off. I _like _my hair, and there was no way I was going to let my hair be chopped off.

While Matako was still trying to prevent him from getting close to me, something had clicked my mind. I gasped, and looked down at my pocket as I thought, _I need to use my pepper spray!_

I figured that now was the perfect time to use it. After all, Teki was trying to have his revenge, and I wasn't going to let him do so.

I stuffed my hand into my pocket, and speedily pulled out the palm-sized canister. I then snatched the cap off, and noticed that Teki had elbowed Matako in the eye. Matako cried out, "AH!"

She closed her left eye, and clenched her teeth harder as Teki stomped on her foot. Matako screamed in pain, and her arms loosened a bit, but she gripped his shirt, still trying to not let him attack me.

Teki took one step forward, but in a split second, I raised the can up, and pushed the top of it forcefully. Pepper spray came out, and when it got into the man's eyes, he immediately shut them tightly, and dropped the scissors as he screeched, feeling the sting in his eyes.

"GAAAHH! YOU FUCKING- AHH!" He knelt on the floor, and put his hands over his eyes.

Matako commanded, "Go, Michiru-san!"

"But what about you, Matako-san?!" I asked loudly. "He elbowed you in the eye!"

"Never mind me! Just go! Do I need to keep repeating myself?!"

I widened my cerulean eyes, but I briefly nodded, and ran to the door as I grabbed the handle of my purse. I stormed out of the small building, and dashed through the street, trying to get away from "Hair Plus" as far as possible.

I put the cap back on the pepper spray can, and stared at it as I thought surprisingly, _I can't believe it…I did it! I managed to put pepper spray on Setsora-san!_

A small smile appeared on my face as I put the small can back into my pocket. I was very surprised at what I just did, because it was my first time using pepper spray. Before I used it on Teki, I was actually expecting myself to mess up. I've seen a few movies where women used pepper spray on men to defend themselves, but I wasn't that confident when I was about to spray it on Teki's eyes. Now, I was proud of myself, because Teki deserved that. He deserved getting sprayed in the face.

I was aware that I had to come back to work in a few days (Tomorrow was my day off), but I decided to not worry about it for now. I needed to get away from Teki, and hopefully, when his eyes cleared up, he wouldn't try to look for me.

Part of me wanted to put a knife in my purse, in case Teki would try to harm me, but I knew I couldn't do that, because the police would most likely catch me, and they'd put me in jail. Obviously, I didn't want that, so carrying a knife was out of the question. Another part of me wanted to carry a gun, but again, I would probably get caught by the police. So, a gun was _also_ out of the question.

What _could_ I do to defend myself? Pepper spray wasn't going to be enough, because the canister was going to run out sometime. If I tried using it while it was empty, I'd be in _big_ trouble, and Teki would attempt to cut me or something like that.

When I was sure I was far enough, I stopped running, and rested my hands on my knees as I was catching my breath.

Heavy pants escaped my mouth, and I wheezed to myself, "Jesus Christ!" I was still taken aback at my boss' action (And not to mention the fact that he elbowed my friend in the eye), but at least I was able to escape him…for now.

I leaned up, and while I was still panting a bit heavily, I began to walk.

I didn't feel like going home, so I went over to the bookstore. Before you ask why I wanted to go there, it's because Teki never goes to the bookstore (He once told me that he doesn't read books).

I entered the store, and saw that there weren't very many people in it. I lifted a red brow up, but shrugged my shoulders, and stepped into the romance section. Almost unconsciously – since I was still tired from all that running – I pulled out a random book.

Without even looking at the title of it, I opened it up, and casually read a page. The first page was the title of the book I was holding, and it was titled, 'Connected Spirits'. Guess I should've looked at the cover before opening the book. I wasn't a huge fan of supernatural stories (At least, I thought this was a supernatural book), but I guess it wouldn't hurt to read a few pages of this.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that a woman was peering at me. I rotated my head to the side, and asked, "What?"

The woman asked back, "Why're you sweating?"

My eyes blinked in slight confusion, but I felt a few beads of sweat trickle down my cheek. I wiped my cheek with the back of my hand, and answered, "I was running."

She arched a brow, "Why?"

"What do you mean 'why'?"

"Well, you're in a dress, and most people who run usually wear sports clothes, such as speedos."

I rolled my eyes, but thought, _I better not tell her what happened to me a few minutes ago._

I quickly lied, "There was a book I really wanted, so I ran here."

She frowned, but seemed to buy into my lie, because she replied, "I see." She turned, and left the section.

I heaved a sigh, a put the book back on the shelf. I leaned my forehead onto the edge of the shelf, and added in thought, _I wish Setsora-san wasn't my boss._

A while had passed, and as I looked through various romance books, my phone started to ring. I glanced at my cellphone, and pulled it out, opening it.

I pushed my thumb into the "send" button, and put the phone next to my ear. I asked, "Hello?"

"Michiru, where are you?" It was Mika. It seemed that she was home. Wait, was I at the bookstore _that_ long? The last time I checked the time, it was around 5:30.

I replied, "I'm at the bookstore. Sorry for making you worry." I narrowed my eyes, and added, "Listen, Mika, I'm going to be home a bit late."

"Um…why?" She confusingly asked.

A sigh escaped my lips, and I responded, "I want to take my mind off of things."

"Did something bad happen?" Mika sounded pretty worried. I didn't blame her though, because she was right. Something bad _did_ happen.

"You could say that, but I'll tell you about it when I get home. I'm not comfortable saying it now, since I'm in a public place."

"I understand. Well, I'll see you later."

"Bye." With that, I hung up.

I put the phone back into my purse, and decided to leave the bookstore.

As soon as I left, I stopped, and wondered, _What can I do to take my mind off of things?_

I tapped the tip of my forefinger on my chin, thinking what I should do to clear my mind. I still didn't want to go home yet, so I thought for a moment before deciding to do something I've _never_ done before.

_I think I'm going to have a drink. That usually calms people down._

Yes, I was going to go to the bar. Yes, I was crazy, but my mother once told me that drinking usually helps people forget about bad things. And since I wanted to forget about the incident at "Hair Plus", I headed for the bar.

In a matter of minutes, I came into the bar, and sat down in front of the counter.

The bartender noticed me, and asked, "Hello, miss. What would you like to drink?"

"Just a beer, please."

"We actually have all kinds of beer. Here, I'll give you the list of drinks." He handed me a list of alcoholic drinks, and added, "Take your time."

I gazed at the list, and without thinking, I decided, "I'll have the raspberry-flavored one." I thought it was weird that they had a raspberry-flavored beer, but I wouldn't mind trying it.

He chuckled, "That was a quick decision." He took the list away from my hands, and chose to ask me, "Just out of curiosity, is this your first time drinking?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, I've never seen you here before, so it's kind of obvious."

I thought while gawking at him, _It's not that obvious._

I admitted with a sigh, "Yes, this'll be my first time drinking."

"I see. Well, anyway, I'll get you your drink."

The bartender grabbed a few bottles, and started making my drink.

As I was waiting for my beer, somebody else was sitting next to me, and when I found out who it was, I smirked, "Hello, Bansai-san. I didn't know you drink."

Bansai replied, "I drink occasionally."

"Hm," I hummed as I rested my chin in my palm. "I'm about to drink for the very first time."

"Is that so?" He raised a teal brow.

I nodded, "Yeah. I'm drinking, because I'm irritated."

Bansai's brow arched higher, but the bartender asked him, "What would you like, sir?"

Bansai responded, "I'll have the usual."

"Coming right up." He handed me my drink, and said with a smile, "Here you go, miss. Hope you like it."

I wrapped my hand around the tall glass, and held it up, bringing it to my lips. I stared at the liquid, and questioned myself, _Will it taste good?_

I took a sip, and when I tasted the alcohol, I widened my eyes in surprise.

_This isn't bad at all._

I grinned, and took a few more sips as Bansai got his drink as well.

The bartender gave out another low chuckle, "Is it good?"

"Yes," I immediately answered as I continued drinking the beverage.

I didn't realize it, but I finished my drink in a matter of seconds. I frowned at the glass, but asked, "May I have another glass?"

He nodded, "Of course."

I set the cup down, and waited patiently for my second glass. I turned to Bansai, and asked, "How're you doing, Bansai-san?"

"I've been through some rough times," He said after taking a huge sip of his drink. "I've had a meltdown three times ever since my mother died, I daresay. I also threw some tantrums at Matako-san while she was calling me. I wasn't doing that on purpose, though. I've just been frustrated, that's all."

Bansai put his index finger in the glass, and twirled the ice around as he questioned back, "What about you? You said that you were irritated, so did something terrible happen?" Although he sounded a bit bored, I was fairly certain he was just curious.

The bartender gave me my second glass, and I thanked him for it. I replied to Bansai as I laced my fingers through my hair, "My boss is an asshole."

"How so?"

"He tried cutting my hair at work today, and I manage to run away from him, but I wanted to kick his ass." I would've said more, but people were around us, and I didn't want them to hear me. So I remained silent.

I drank my beverage, and added, "That's why I'm so irritated. My boss sucks." I felt a drop of beer trail down the corner of my lip, and I wiped it off with my finger as I told the bartender, "Hey, give me another cup, please."

The bartender rolled his eyes, but smiled, and did so.

**20 minutes later…**

I lost count on how many glasses I've drank, but I felt a bit woozy. It seemed that I was starting to get drunk, but that was the point, because I was _trying_ to do that. I wanted Teki to get out of my mind, so I was going to drink as many glasses as possible. Of course, I was also going to make sure I didn't throw up; I didn't want to cause a scene in the middle of the bar.

Anyway, Bansai gazed at me, and questioned, "You're drunk, aren't you?"

I slurred, "Y-Yeah, but I d-don't care! I w-wanted to clear m-my mind up, because like I-I said, I'm irritated a-at my b-boss! He's a freak!"

Bansai rested his cheek on his knuckles as I asked, "H-How many g-glasses did you d-drink?"

"Only two. I don't like getting drunk, I daresay."

"Hur…did y-you count how many g-glasses I drank?"

"As a matter of fact, I did. You drank seven glasses."

"S-Seven glasses?!" I exclaimed in mild surprise. "I-Is that a n-new record?!"

"Nope," The bartender informed me. "Somebody made a record of _ten_ glasses."

"Dammit, I was h-hoping to b-beat that record!" I complained. I didn't know why I was complaining, but I guess it was because I was now drunk.

I softly hit my head on the counter, and the bartender asked Bansai, "Do you want me to call a cab?"

Bansai shook his head, "No, I'll take her home." He got out of his seat, and told me, "Michiru, you still need to pay for your drinks."

"C-Could you t-take my wallet out from my p-purse?" I slurred yet again.

Bansai grabbed my purse, and pulled out my wallet. He opened it, took out some money, and then gave it to the bartender. The man accepted the money, and Bansai put the wallet back into my purse before pulling me up from my seat.

As my purse strap was on my arm, Bansai crouched down, and ordered, "Get on my back, Michiru."

I gawked at the teal-haired man, and laughed, "You w-want to give me a p-piggy back ride?!"

"If I let you walk, you'll just fall down."

I pouted, but gave him a nod as I wrapped my arms around his neck. He held the back of my legs, and picked me up as he began to walk out of the bar.

The bartender said before we exited out of the alcoholic-filled place, "Have a nice night."

Bansai and I left, and walked through the streets as I burped. I mumbled, "Excuse m-me."

Bansai turned his head to the side, and questioned, "Michiru, I don't know where your house is, so could you tell me where it is?"

I tried to answer his question, but I couldn't because one: I was too drunk to speak clearly; and two: even if I wasn't drunk, I still wouldn't be able to answer, because I hardly ever remember the name of the street I live in.

When I didn't respond, he sighed as if he read my mind, "You don't remember what the name of the street it is, do you?"

I shook my head slowly.

Another sigh escaped Bansai's lips, and he suggested, "We'll go to my place, then."

With that, he began to walk to his apartment. For no real reason, I sniffed his spiky hair, and whispered with a smirk, "You smell n-nice."

"Hm? I smell nice?"

"Yep," I giggled as I brushed my cheeks onto the locks of his hair. "Your hair feels soft, too."

Bansai didn't reply, but I knew he rolled his eyes (Don't ask how. I just knew) behind his dark sunglasses.

I lowered my eyelids, and placed my chin on his shoulder as I thought, _I wonder what his apartment is like._

My eyes closed completely, and I giggled again as another thought came into my head, _Well, I'm going to find out very soon._

* * *

**I'm pretty aware that raspberry-flavored beers don't exist, but I don't drink, so I wouldn't exactly know (Then again, I'm 19, which means I'm two years too young to drink alcohol, anyway. XD). *shrugs***

**Anyway, Teki got pepper sprayed! YAY! XD He pretty much deserved that.**

**The next chapter will be the lemon (I will admit that I wanted to wait a little longer, but I ran out of ideas. ^^;), so be prepared, because it will be pretty long.**

**Hope you enjoyed chapter 11! :)**


	12. A deep song

**This chapter will be in 3rd POV. Enjoy!**

**Sisi427: Oops...I hate myself for not doing anymore research for pepper spray. :( But the door to "Hair Plus" was opened...I know I didn't mention that; so sorry. ^^; You're right, Matako was close, so I guess Michiru got a little bit of pepper spray on her. As for Teki, the pepper spray did get in his eyes. Anyway, yep, my writing is very slowly improving, though I'll probably still be an amateur writer. XD**

* * *

**-3****rd**** POV-**

After a few moments of walking, Bansai finally returned home. He slowly let go of Michiru, and when Michiru landed her feet on the floor, she wobbled a bit. She nearly fell down, but Bansai held her arms, and asked with a raised brow, "Are you okay?"

Michiru burped, "I-I'm fine…" For the truth, she didn't know if she really was fine, because she was still drunk.

Bansai took off his shoes, and entered the living room without even bothering to turn on the light. Michiru took off her slippers, but accidentally tripped. Her knees landed on the floor, and she burped once again, "Whoops…"

Bansai rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses, and walked over to the clumsy woman. He grabbed her wrist, and pulled her up.

She managed to stand up, but Bansai didn't want her to fall down again. So he wrapped her arm around his shoulder, and walked back into the living room.

Michiru slurred, "Bansai…c-could you t-take me to the b-bathroom?"

"Sure," Bansai responded, and headed to the bathroom.

As soon as they were beside the bathroom, Bansai let go of her, and asked, "Would you like some privacy?"

"P-Please," Michiru slowly nodded, still looking like she was about to fall down. Yeah, she definitely had too much to drink.

Bansai closed the bathroom door, giving Michiru some privacy. A sigh escaped Bansai's lips, and he decided to go to his room.

He entered his bedroom, and since it was dark, he walked to his nightstand, where he grabbed his pack of matches. He took one match out, and lit it by sliding it on the side of the small box. He lit the candle, and blew the smoke out from the match.

As soon as that was taken care of, Bansai sat on his bed, and grabbed a piece of paper. He also grabbed his mechanical pencil, and began writing lyrics.

He wrote for a good few minutes, and he noticed that Michiru was entering his bedroom. Bansai arched a brow, and asked, "Why're you wearing one of my kimonos?"

Indeed, Michiru was wearing one of his kimonos. It was purple, and it was also loose. So loose, that part of Michiru's cleavage was exposed. If Michiru was sober, then she would've covered herself up…but she was too drunk to even care.

She smirked, and chuckled, "I wanted t-to wear something more c-comfortable. My clothes w-were _killing _me!"

Once again, Bansai rolled his eyes, and he went back to writing lyrics.

He didn't realize it at the time, but Michiru walked towards his bed, and as soon as she was in front of it, she sat down, and asked, sounding like she was singing instead of talking, "Whatcha writin', Bansai~?"

Michiru rested her chin on Bansai's left shoulder, and Bansai gazed at her, raising a brow. Despite the awkward situation Bansai was in, he answered calmly, "Lyrics for Otsu-dono."

"Is th-that so?" Michiru hiccupped.

Bansai accidentally smelled her breath, but it wasn't foul. It just smelled like beer.

He decided to ask the redheaded woman, "Did you throw up while you were in the bathroom?"

Michiru stared at him as if he was crazy. She laughed hoarsely, "N-No, I didn't throw u-up! Sure, I was f-feeling a little nauseated, but I didn't p-puke!"

They both looked at each other in the eyes. Michiru gave the teal-haired man a goofy smile before pulling herself away from him.

"I'm gonna l-lie down, i-if you don't mind." No soon after she said that, she plopped onto Bansai's comfy bed. She pulled her legs up, and was now officially lying down. Well, she was lying on her side, anyway.

She closed her dark-blue eyes, and it seemed that she was drifting off to sleep, because she started snoring.

Bansai glanced at her as she rested her head on the fluffy pillow. Bansai could've just ignored her, and continued on with writing lyrics for Tsu Terakado, but for some reason, he paused. His eyes gazed at her tired face, where strands of her hair covered it.

A sigh escaped Bansai's lips, and he put the paper and mechanical pencil on his nightstand. He continued to stare at the woman, and he listened to her "song". He thought, _Her song gets more and more peaceful. Even when she's drunk, her song barely changes, I daresay._

There was one part of Michiru's "song" that he adored most, but that one part kept on getting interrupted by various notes. That part in her "song" was a calm, jazzy tune, with slow ringing bells that created a peaceful harmony.

Bansai wanted to hear that part. But the other notes in Michiru's "song" kept blocking it, preventing him from hearing it.

He slowly leaned over, and rested a hand on Michiru's upper arm. He whispered, "Michiru…your song keeps ringing in my ears."

"Mmm…" Michiru murmured as she shifted her weight on the bed.

Bansai carefully pushed her arm, making her back lie on his bed. She made a few noises, but didn't wake up.

The man narrowed his eyes, and thought, _If I want to hear that part in Michiru's song, then I'll need to take off my headphones._

Although he loved his headphones with a passion, the music in them distracted Bansai from hearing Michiru's "song". He used one hand to pull the yin-yang headphones off of his ears, and he put it on his nightstand, along with the paper and pencil.

He touched her arm again, but this time, he rubbed it. He soothed the kimono sleeve as he gazed at her face once again. Her hair got out of the way, and Michiru's lips were barely parted as a soft snore escaped her thin lips.

Bansai used his right thumb to touch Michiru's bottom lip. He slightly pulled it down, and thought, _She feels soft._

For the truth, Bansai had never kissed a woman in his entire life. The closest he ever did, when it came to kissing women, was almost accidentally kissing Matako in high school (This was because Matako thought Bansai was Shinsuke, for some weird reason). They didn't kiss, of course, but Matako became so embarrassed, that she didn't want to see him for a week. Crazy, huh?

Bansai wondered what it would be like to kiss someone. His thumb rubbed across Michiru's bottom lip, and Michiru grunted a bit. It seemed that she was waking up from her _very _short nap, because Michiru could feel something touching her lip.

Michiru barely opened her eyes, and she asked, "Wh-What do you think you're d-doing? A-Are you touching my lip?"

Bansai chuckled softly, "Maybe I am…maybe I'm not."

The drunk woman frowned, "Just a-answer, already…"

Bansai lowered his face, and when his nose nearly touched Michiru's, he whispered, "Is feeling your bottom lip a bad thing?"

"I n-never said that. I was j-just asking you a question."

He chuckled yet again, but he leaned up, and grabbed the edge of Michiru's – correction, Bansai's – loose kimono. Michiru raised a brow, wondering what he was going to do, but without knowing it, he pulled it to the side, revealing Michiru's breast.

That's when Michiru widened her eyes with realization. She gasped in shock, and glared at the man, "Wh-What the hell are you d-doing, you pervert?!"

Bansai placed a finger on Michiru's lips, and he shushed her, "Shh, don't worry, Michiru. I won't do anything bad to you."

That didn't exactly answer Michiru's question, but he didn't care. He grabbed the other edge of the kimono, and pulled it, exposing her other breast.

Michiru's cheeks shaded into a dark-red blush, and she clenched her teeth as she continued to glare at Bansai.

Bansai informed her as he wrapped his arm around Michiru's back, "I'm not a pervert, Michiru. I just want to listen to your song."

The woman snorted in amusement, "Don't you listen to m-my song 24/7?"

Bansai rolled his eyes, "That's not what I meant. What I meant was…there's one part in your song that I really want to hear, but the other tunes in your song keep getting in the way."

"That doesn't make a-any s-sense! Get off of m-me, before I punch y-you!"

Michiru tried to lean up, but Bansai forcefully pushed her down with his body. Michiru gasped, and she raised her brows in surprise.

She whispered, "B-Bansai…"

Bansai came face-to-face with the woman. He parted his lips, and without warning her, he placed his lips on hers'. Michiru yelped inside his mouth as her cheeks grew hotter.

As Bansai expected, her lips were really soft and warm. He could taste the beer, but he didn't mind that.

Michiru wanted to push him away, but strangely, she didn't do anything. She just had her eyes wide in surprise.

She squinted her eyes, and muffled in his mouth as Bansai ran his fingers through her long hair.

He slowly drifted the kiss, but their faces were only centimeters away from each other. Bansai whispered yet again, "Aren't you going to try to push me away?"

"N-No…I mean, I-I want to, but for some reason, I c-can't."

"Is that so?" Bansai arched a teal brow, ready to laugh at her comment.

Michiru hesitated for a second before nodding at his question.

Bansai decided to ask, "Was that your first kiss?"

"Eh?" Michiru muttered, kind of unsure what he just said.

"Was that your first kiss?" He repeated his question.

Michiru averted her gaze away from the man, and she mumbled, "Y-Yes…it was my f-first kiss." She tilted her head down, and without a second thought, she added, "Your l-lips were s-soft…"

"My lips were soft?" Bansai whispered huskily as he brushed her lips with his thumb.

Michiru shut her eyes, but nodded her head. Bansai chuckled quietly, "So were yours."

Her cheeks were so red; her blush went all the way to her neck. Bansai informed her, "That was actually my first kiss, too."

She widened her eyes, and stared at Bansai as she nearly exclaimed, "Eh?! Then how come you're such a good kisser?!" When she realized what she just said, she covered her mouth with her hand, and averted her gaze away from him again.

Bansai laughed, and pulled her hand away as he replied, "I've seen hundreds of people kiss…I think _you_ should know how to kiss someone by now."

"Th-That just slipped…"

He asked off-topically, "Are you still drunk?"

"What does that have to do w-with anything?"

"Well, by the time we're done with what we're about to do, by morning, you'll forget all about it, because you were drunk off your butt."

Michiru pouted, "Yes, I'm s-still drunk, but why d-does it matter?"

"It doesn't, but I just thought I'd let you know that you'll still forget what happened by the time morning comes."

"Hm," Michiru hummed as she narrowed her eyes.

Bansai kissed her forehead, and said, "But the only thing I _don't _want you to forget is your first kiss."

Michiru furrowed her brows slightly, and complimented, "You really are a g-good kisser."

He chuckled, and leaned down, kissing her neck. Michiru bit her lower lip to prevent herself from making any noises. Bansai breathed on her neck; then started licking it. It did startle Michiru, but the only sound that came from her was a quiet yelp. As Bansai licked her smooth neck, shivers went up Michiru's spine. She didn't know why Bansai was doing this, but she didn't say anything about it.

It was Bansai's first time as well, but unlike Michiru, he watched a few porn videos (A.K.A. DVD's) a few years back. He actually owned a few porn DVD's, but he rarely, if ever, watched porn. And whenever he did watch it, he wouldn't masturbate like a lot of other perverts. He would just watch it as if it were an actual movie…with lots of sex.

Bansai's wet tongue trailed from Michiru's neck, to her collarbone. He kissed her collarbone a few times, and, again, without warning, he softly grabbed her left breast.

Michiru gasped, and turned her head side-to-side as she thought, _Why do I feel strange? Why am I not stopping him?_

He massaged her breast, and continued kissing her tender flesh as he could feel her body shaking.

Bansai leaned up, and asked, "Why're you shaking, Michiru?"

Michiru didn't answer, but she asked back, "Wh-Why'd you stop?"

He grinned, "I asked you a question first."

"I…I don't know why I'm shaking. P-Perhaps my body's r-reacting."

"Heh." Bansai leaned back down, and pecked her right breast. Another gasp escaped Michiru's lips, and she ran her fingers through his teal hair as she whimpered. Bansai ran his tongue over her pinkish nipple, and continued to massage her other breast.

He sucked on her nipple, and pinched her other one with his index finger and thumb. Her nipples became erect, and when Michiru noticed this, she mewed, "M-My nipples…"

Bansai tried to be gentle on her nipples, but he slowly twisted her left one, which caused Michiru to flinch.

"A-Ah! Bansai! P-Please don't be so h-hard on my nipples!"

He smirked, "I won't." Bansai flicked her nipple with his tongue, and then put his mouth over it. He sucked on it more, and closed his eyes as he thought, _I want to hear my favorite part in her song, but I want to slow down first._

He unwrapped the sash on the kimono, and dropped it on the floor. He then pulled the kimono open, and exposed Michiru's whole body, including her light-blue underwear. His smirk grew wider, and he stopped sucking on her nipple.

Michiru frowned, and said, "Bansai, t-take off those g-goofy-looking glasses! I want to s-see what your eyes look like!"

Without a second to spare, she pulled his sunglasses off, and tossed them on the floor. Bansai widened his eyes, but then glared at the woman, who was smirking back at him.

He asked, "Why did you do that? You could've broken them."

Michiru rolled her eyes, and replied, "Your sunglasses were g-getting in the way, so I took them o-off for you."

"Michiru…I'm not very fond of my eyes, which is the reason why I always wear sunglasses."

"That's s-stupid! Your eyes make you look h-handsome! Have you e-even looked at your eyes before?"

He raised a brow, and responded, "Yes, but not for a while, so I don't exactly remember what they look like."

"See? You can't not like y-your eyes if you d-don't remember what they look like!"

He sighed, "What color are my eyes, then?"

Despite the darkness in the room (Aside from the candle still lighting), Michiru could make out the color of his eyes. She responded, "Light-green."

He narrowed his small eyes, and thought, _Why don't I like my eyes? Is it because they have a bright color?_

Bansai didn't know it, but Michiru wrapped an arm around his neck. While he was still thinking about his eyes, Michiru slowly pulled him down, and told him, "You sh-should leave your sunglasses o-off more often."

Bansai rolled his eyes, but Michiru planted a kiss on his lips. Bansai widened his eyes, feeling slightly surprised at Michiru's action.

As Michiru started drifting the kiss away, she grabbed his buttock. Bansai made a noise, and glanced at the woman as she snickered, "You got a nice ass."

Bansai looked into her dark-blue eyes, and Michiru added, "Do you want me to d-do something else?"

He leaned up, and took off his shirt, revealing his chest. Bansai tossed his shirt on the floor, and placed each hand on the side of Michiru's head. He whispered, "No. Just stay still."

At first, Michiru raised a red brow, not understanding what he meant by that. But Bansai cupped her cheek, and kissed her on the lips again. Michiru closed her eyes, and touched his hair with her fingers. She twirled some of his hair with her forefinger, and thought, _His lips are so warm…_

Bansai pulled himself away from the woman, and Michiru frowned with disappointment. She wanted the kiss to last longer.

Before she could ask if he could kiss her again, Bansai asked, "Were you disappointed that the kiss was short?"

She turned her head to the side, and admitted, "Yes."

Bansai smirked, "Love-making is more than just kisses, I daresay."

Michiru blinked her eyes wide, and stared at him as he realized what he just said. He thought, questioning himself, _Did I just say "love-making"? Yes, I did say that._

Michiru whispered his name, "Bansai…"

Bansai said as his forehead touched hers', "My tongue just slipped."

The woman rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time, and gazed at his chest. She bit her lower lip, but touched his chest softly. Bansai looked down, seeing what Michiru was doing.

He grinned, and lied down beside Michiru. He lied on his side, and muttered, "Were you touching me just now?"

"Is that a b-bad thing?" Michiru asked.

Bansai shook his head, "No, I was just curious." He grabbed her wrist, and made her hand feel his chest again. Michiru stared at him, as if she was asking him, 'What do you want me to do now?'. But Bansai added, "Go on."

Michiru half-smiled, and looked at his chest, where she began feeling him. She trailed her finger over his muscles, and parted her lips as sweat dripped down her cheek. Without adding much thought, she moved closer to Bansai, and started licking his flesh. Bansai quietly moaned at her touch, and she placed her tongue over his right nipple. She circled his nipple, and continued feeling his muscles as her cheeks grew hot.

The woman gently bit his nipple, and Bansai groaned, "And you tell me to not be so hard on your nipples."

"This is payback," Michiru replied, which made Bansai chuckle.

She sucked on his nipple as Bansai landed a hand on top of her head. He stroked it as he closed his eyes, and whispered something that was barely audible for her to hear, "Stop trying to make me excited."

"Hm?" Michiru hummed as she stopped sucking his nipple. She looked down at his groin, and grinned, "Bansai…I think you're h-having an erection."

"Huh?" Bansai questioned, but looked down as well, only to see a bulge on his pants.

Yeah, he was definitely having an erection.

Bansai raised a brow, but Michiru placed a hand on the bulge on his pants. Bansai gasped, and felt her hand rubbing him. He glared at her, but Michiru snickered, "You want me, don't you? Because you f-feel hard."

When Michiru didn't stop rubbing him, Bansai clenched his teeth as a drop of sweat rolled down his forehead.

Michiru was about to unbuckle his belt, but Bansai grabbed her arm, and growled, "Oh, no, you don't."

"Wha-" Michiru couldn't finish her question, because Bansai pinned her on his bed. Michiru gave him a confusing look, and frowned, "What's the big idea, Bansai?"

Bansai paused. That was actually a good question. What _was _the big idea? All Michiru did was try to unbuckle his belt. It wasn't like she was trying to hurt him or anything.

Bansai sighed, "Not yet."

"What do you mean not yet?!" She snarled.

Bansai shushed her, "Shh, don't be so loud, Michiru. I live in an apartment, you know. I don't want my neighbors hearing your shouts." He looked at his door, and added, "I better close the door; that way, there's a lesser chance anyone's going to hear you when you yell."

He walked to his door, and closed it. He then walked back to the bed, and sat down as he reached his hand out, touching her cheek. Bansai rubbed her cheek, and slightly smiled, but Michiru demanded, "You didn't answer my q-question."

"Right," Bansai murmured. "I don't want you to unbuckle my belt yet."

"Why not, though?"

"Because there are still some things that I want to do first." Part of him was glad he watched porn; otherwise he wouldn't know what the hell to do.

He caressed his hand over her breast, and squeezed it gently as he kissed her nipple. Michiru's heart pounded just by seeing this, and although the heat in the room was unbearable, she didn't want him to stop. And even if she wanted to, Bansai wouldn't let her do that. Apparently, he was feeling aroused.

Bansai used his other hand to feel her stomach, and he trailed his hand from there, to her groin.

He felt her silky underwear, and when he pressed a finger onto her groin, a moan escaped her lips.

Another smirk crept up his face, and he pressed another finger onto her clothed womanhood.

A second shiver went up Michiru's spine, and she looked at Bansai in the eyes, but Bansai placed his mouth over hers'. He forcefully pushed his tongue into her mouth, and she gave out a lustful moan. As his fingers started stroking her groin, their tongues wrestled. Michiru tightly shut her eyes, and gripped on Bansai's hair as if she was telling him to get off of her. But Bansai didn't want to get off of Michiru. He wanted to taste the warmth of her tongue. Her tongue was strangely feeling hot, but Bansai didn't mind that.

Michiru landed her hand on his chest, and forcefully pushed him off of her. She gasped for air, and panted, "What're you t-trying to do?! S-Suffocate me?!"

Although that sounded funny, Bansai didn't laugh. Instead, he brought his lips to her ear, and whispered, "I wasn't trying to suffocate you, Michiru. I just wanted to hear another tune of yours, I daresay."

He blew in her ear, causing goosebumps to form on her skin. Now Michiru felt hot _and_ cold…if that made any sense.

He nibbled on her earlobe, and without alarming her, he slid his hand inside her underwear. Michiru whimpered at his touch, and moved her legs as she hesitantly said his name, "B-B-Bansai…Bansai…"

Bansai felt the folds of her womanhood, and he licked her earlobe as Michiru squirmed, sounding like a helpless kitten with nowhere to go. Her heart was now beating rapidly, and she tried calming it down, but she couldn't, because Bansai was still feeling her private part.

Since this was her first time – and considering the fact that she never watched porn – she couldn't think straight. She was wondering why Bansai was touching her inappropriately. Then again, that sounded a little hypocritical, because she was feeling his groin not too long ago, which was also inappropriate.

Michiru panted heavily as beads of sweat trailed down her forehead and neck. And the more Bansai felt her, the heavier she breathed. She was suddenly starting to feel dizzy. If she was standing up, then she would've fallen down. Michiru took short breaths, and breathed out, "Bansai!"

"Hm?" Bansai hummed, locking his gaze on Michiru. "Why'd you stop me? I was about to hear my favorite part of your song."

"Y-You're t-touching me…"

"Yes, I am. You felt my groin, so now it's my turn."

He pulled his hand out of Michiru's underwear, but he grabbed the ends of it, and without a second to spare, he quickly pulled it down.

Michiru's jaw dropped, and when Bansai took her underwear off, she used her hands to cover her private part. She knew he had seen it; she just didn't want him to look at it, because it was so embarrassing.

Water began to form in her eyes, but she closed them to prevent any tears from coming out.

Bansai held her hand, and quietly ordered, "Michiru, pull your hands away. I want to see it."

She shook her head violently, and exclaimed, "N-No! I-I'm too embarrassed! I don't want you t-to look!"

"Michiru," He whispered as his thumb wiped away the water that was in her eyes. "I know you're embarrassed by this, but don't you want to do this?"

Michiru slowly opened her eyes, and saw Bansai's calm, but serious, expression. She whimpered, "I-I do…b-but don't you have a c-condom?"

That's when Bansai realized that he didn't actually have a condom. He frowned, but admitted, "No. I don't have one." It must've slipped his mind. Perhaps he should've gotten a box of condoms a while ago; then he wouldn't have much of a problem right now.

He sighed in disappointment, and leaned up as he said, "We can stop now if you want."

Michiru widened her cerulean eyes, and as he was about to grab his shirt from the floor, she halted him by replying, "No…"

He looked at her from the corner of his eye, and raised a brow, humming, "Hm?"

"I…I don't want to stop. L-Let's continue…"

The corner of his lips curved up, and he asked, "Are you sure?"

Michiru nodded, "Yes…w-we can use a condom next time…" It was obvious enough that she was hesitating. She knew that without protection, women would get pregnant (Unless it was only women having sex). There were other risks for unprotected sex, but Michiru was most worried about pregnancy. She didn't want to get pregnant, because she hated kids. Kids were too expensive to take care of, anyway.

Bansai muttered, "Hm, you don't _sound _sure."

"Look, I just don't w-want to get pregnant. The last thing I want is kids. Kids are too noisy a-and loud."

"True." Bansai noticed that she was biting her lower lip. She looked like she had no idea what to do. Michiru wanted to do it, but she refused to get pregnant. Bansai smiled, "I'll try to not get you pregnant. I don't want you to have kids, either. You'd probably be a terrible mother, I daresay."

Michiru did feel insulted by that comment, but she agreed, "Yeah. I'd be a terrible mother, because I have a pretty bad temper."

"Your temper isn't _that_ bad."

She laughed, but Bansai changed the subject by saying, "Anyway, remove your hands."

Michiru stared at her own hands, and furrowed her brows before finally pulling them away. She asked, "You sure you won't cum inside me?"

"I promise," He answered as he moved a strand of hair from her face. "Do you trust me?"

"Eh?"

"Do you trust me?"

She paused. Michiru narrowed her eyes, contemplating on whether or not to trust him. She hadn't trusted him since the day they met, but she has been having these warm feelings for him for a few weeks.

Finally, after a few seconds of hesitation, she answered, "I…trust you."

He smiled warmly, "Good." He nearly lied on top of her, and he planted kisses on her chest, her abdomen, and her stomach. Bansai licked her soft, burning flesh as Michiru arched her back.

She mewed, "Bansai, th-that tickles…" Bansai ignored her, and trailed his tongue all the way to her private part.

He pushed her thighs up, and widened her legs, making Michiru yelp in surprise. Bansai looked at her private part as Michiru's face turned completely red. She covered her face, because she didn't want to see him seeing her lady part.

But Bansai commanded calmly, "Don't look away, Michiru."

She peeked through her fingers, and asked, "I-If this is your f-first time, h-how do you know what to do?"

"I've seen some porn movies in the past, plus learned about sex during high school. Don't you remember having health class back then?"

"W-Well, I do, b-but I-I'm drunk right now, s-so I can't r-remember much at the m-moment."

"That makes sense, then." Bansai held her legs wide, and moved his face closer to her womanhood. Michiru could see what he was doing, but her hands were still on her face. When Bansai noticed, he sighed, "Michiru, please stop covering your face."

She was about to ask why, but her throat clogged up for some reason. Michiru gulped, and slowly removed her hands from her red face. She rested her hands on the blanket, and watched Bansai as he kissed her thigh. He then moved his lips towards her womanhood, and he spread her folds with his thumbs, revealing her innocence. Her private part twitched a few times, and as Bansai stared at it, he thought, _How painful will it be for Michiru…when we actually do it? I want to hear her song more, but I don't want to hurt her._

He felt Michiru's hand touch his head. Bansai gazed from her private part, to her flushed face. He questioned, "What?"

"I-Is it going to hurt by the time we, you know, actually d-do it?"

He chuckled, "Believe me, it will hurt, but the pain probably won't last long, I daresay. Why do you ask?"

"I…I was just a little worried." She gazed in another direction.

"Worried? About what?"

"F-Feeling the pain."

"Michiru, look at me."

"Huh?" She looked at Bansai, with a smile on his face.

He replied, "I don't want to hurt you; I'll be gentle."

She smiled back, but she was still worried. How painful was it going to be by the time they were actually going to have sex? That was the only question that roamed through her mind. But Michiru was going to find out soon.

Bansai blinked his light-green eyes, and moved his face very close to her private part. He parted his lips, and began licking her womanhood.

Michiru gasped loudly, and her hands shook as she thought, _What's he doing to me? I feel like I'm in another world…_

Bansai explored her innocence with his tongue, and he pushed her thighs up, making them almost touch Michiru's shoulders. Another gasp escaped Michiru's thin lips as Bansai tasted her warmth.

He stopped for a second, but rubbed his middle finger on her clit. Michiru twitched like before, only it was starting to get uncontrollable.

She whimpered, "Bansai…p-please stop t-teasing me like that…"

"Why should I?" Bansai asked rhetorically. "I'm only trying to make you feel excited."

"B-But…"

He placed a finger on her lips, and told her in a whisper, "Don't say anything."

With that, she was silent. Bansai still rubbed her sensitive area, and he thought as he kissed her upper thigh, _I'm about to hear my favorite part of her song. That part's so close, yet so far._

He removed his fingers from Michiru's clit, but he began to lick it. Michiru exclaimed, "Bansai, y-you're being dirty!"

"Oh? This isn't dirty. In fact, when was the last time you showered?"

"Er, last night."

He gave out a barely audible laugh, and licked her clit again. Michiru moaned as Bansai held her legs.

Michiru was lost in her own world. She couldn't concentrate on what was happening right now. She became so dizzy, that it felt like she was going to faint. Her body burned to the point where it felt like it was on fire. Drips of sweat poured down her breasts as saliva trailed down the corner of her lip.

But when Bansai called her name, Michiru snapped back into reality. She quietly gasped, and blinked at Bansai as he informed her, "It's your turn."

"M-My turn?" She asked, feeling a bit confused. What did Bansai mean it was her turn? Was he trying to play a game or something?

Bansai knelt on his bed, and told her as he grabbed her wrist, "You can unbuckle my belt now."

He pulled her up, and as soon as she was sitting up, one side of the kimono she was wearing started to slide down her arm. Michiru ignored that, and started unbuckling his belt.

Bansai waited patiently as he felt her dark-red hair.

Michiru eventually finished unbuckling his belt, and she undid the button, plus pulled down his zipper.

She bit her lower lip as she slowly pulled down his pants, plus boxers. Soon, his erect member was out. As his pants and boxers fell down to his thighs, Michiru stared at his erection. She narrowed her eyes, and continued biting her lower lip as Bansai curiously asked, "Is something wrong?"

Michiru placed her knuckles over her mouth, and flushed as she thought, _Wh-What should I do right now?_

The first question she decided to ask was, "C-Can I t-touch it?" She almost immediately covered her mouth, now feeling even more embarrassed that she asked that question.

Bansai laughed, "Of course you can. Just don't be rough, I daresay."

The dark-red haired woman hesitantly moved her hand forward, and within seconds, she felt his member. Michiru's eyes squinted as she stroked it. She licked her dry lips, and then said, "You're hard…but you also feel soft."

Bansai felt his body grow warm as Michiru licked the head of his manhood. He moaned, and closed his eyes, trying not to stare off into space.

Michiru licked the side of his member, and stroked it faster as she whispered, "I love the sound of your moans." She giggled, and licked his erection a second time.

He wanted her to continue, but Michiru suggested, "Can you take off your pants?"

"Yes," Bansai answered, taking off his pants. As soon as his pants and boxers were off, he dropped them on the floor, and nodded, as if signaling her to continue.

Michiru smirked, and held his member again, but this time, her mouth went over it. Bansai moaned louder as Michiru started sucking on it.

She moved back and forth as she closed her eyes, tasting his hard member. Bansai held her head, and clenched his teeth as he started gripping her hair.

Michiru was about to run out of air, so she pushed herself off of Bansai, and gasped. Both Bansai and Michiru panted heavily, but Bansai grinned, "Why'd you stop?"

"I was running out of air," Michiru responded.

"I see." Bansai held her shoulders, and slowly pushed her back on the bed. He grabbed Michiru's – Bansai's – kimono, and pulled it off of her body. She, plus Bansai, was now completely naked.

Bansai caressed her skin, and kissed her stomach multiple times. He felt her clit again, but informed her, "It looks like you're ready."

"What do you m-mean?" She questioned.

"You're getting wet, I daresay."

Widening her eyes in surprise, she asked another question, "H-How do you know that?"

"Isn't it obvious?" He felt her entrance, and then showed Michiru her wetness. "You really are wet."

She furrowed her brows, but Bansai widened her legs like before, and knelt in-between them as he held his member. He made the head of it feel her entrance, and as Michiru twitched like crazy, she grabbed his wrist, and halted him by saying, "Wait!"

"Yes?" Bansai wondered why she stopped him all of a sudden. Didn't she want to do it? Or did she have a change of mind?

Michiru murmured, but made sure Bansai heard her, "I-I'm too n-nervous."

Bansai pulled her hand off of his wrist, and replied, "Don't worry. As I said before, I'll be gentle. Just relax."

He leaned over her, and landed on her soft breasts as he very slowly pushed his member into her warmth. Michiru clenched her teeth, and shut her eyes as Bansai pushed his manhood all the way in.

As soon as he was fully inside her entrance, Michiru suddenly started to cry. She whimpered painfully as tears trailed down her cheeks. Sweat formed on Bansai's face, and he kissed her on the cheek, whispering, "It's okay, Michiru. I told you…it was going to be a bit painful."

Although kissing her on the cheek didn't make her feel better, Michiru appreciated that. It wasn't like he was trying to hurt her on purpose. In fact, no matter how gentle the man was, the woman would feel pain on her first time.

Michiru wrapped her arms around Bansai's shoulders, and replied, "I know…it just…hurts."

"I know, Michiru. I know." He kissed her on the lips, and ruffled her hair.

Bansai drifted the kiss seconds later, and he slowly pulled himself out, but saw that there was blood coming out of Michiru. He widened his eyes, but realized, _Damn. I better get some tissues before I get any stains on my bed._

He pulled his manhood out of her, and turned around, grabbing some tissues from his nightstand. Michiru still felt a bit of pain inside of her, but hopefully, the pain would go away soon.

Bansai wiped the blood off of himself and Michiru, and asked, "Are you okay?"

She nodded, "It did hurt, but I'm fine." She gave him a weak smile, but Bansai frowned at it, because he knew she was still in pain.

Bansai grabbed another tissue, and wiped away the tears in her eyes as he murmured, "Are you sure you're fine? Do you want me to comfort you before we continue?"

Michiru shifted a shoulder up, but responded, "I'd appreciate that."

The man smiled, and as soon as he was done cleaning the blood off, he got up from the bed, and left the bedroom. Michiru didn't quite understand why he left all of a sudden (And not to mention the fact that he was still naked), but Bansai eventually returned.

He closed the door behind him, and Michiru asked, "Wh-Where did you go?"

"I don't have a garbage can in here, so I had to throw away the tissues in the bathroom garbage."

"Oh," Michiru replied, sounding relieved.

Bansai arched a teal brow, and asked back with an amused grin, "Were you worried about me ditching you?"

She averted her gaze away from his face, but Bansai sighed, "Michiru, you should know that I would _never_ ditch you. In fact, I'm not the kind of person to ditch people. That's ridiculous." As soon as he was back to the bed, his hands cupped her cheeks, and he added in a barely audible whisper, "Besides, don't you trust me?"

"I…I…" She did say that she trusted him, but she couldn't form any words at the moment.

Bansai knelt on his bed, and wrapped his arms around her upper back. He pulled Michiru up, and hugged her, trying to comfort her from the pain she had.

He practically cradled her as he whispered lustfully, "Are you _really_ alright? I don't want to hurt you, as I've said already."

Michiru leaned her ear on his chest, hearing his slow heartbeats. She smiled slightly, and whispered back, "I'm alright now. Thanks for comforting me."

Bansai kissed her on the forehead. He let go of her, and Michiru lied back down as he widened her legs yet again. He held his erection, and teased her entrance as he questioned, "Ready?"

She nodded.

Bansai slowly pushed the head of his member inside of her. Michiru didn't feel much pain this time, but it still wasn't very comfortable. Bansai put an arm under her thigh, and lifted it up, making her leg go over his shoulder.

He told her, "Relax…"

She chuckled, "You s-said that already."

"You still need to relax."

Bansai pushed in as deep as he could go. He felt her twitching against him, but he ignored it, and slowly began to thrust.

Michiru gripped on the blanket as she felt his hard member slide in and out of her. Her body was covered in sweat, and she wiped the sweat off her forehead with her palm, but she knew it wouldn't help, because she and Bansai were having sex at the moment.

Bansai cupped her right breast, and massaged it as Michiru pulled her leg away from his shoulder. He leaned down, and sucked on her nipple as her fingers ruffled his hair.

Bansai thought as he pushed inside her a bit roughly, _I can hear my favorite part now. It's a beautiful piece of music, as I thought it would be._

Michiru moaned, and whimpered at the same time. She wanted to say something, but the only thing she could say was his name. Even then, Bansai paid no attention to her, and he continued to thrust inside her entrance as he forced the woman to wrap her legs around his back. She did so, and Bansai's chest rested on her breasts once again.

The musician kissed her jawline, and Michiru trailed the tips of her fingers on his back. A shiver went up Bansai's spine, and goosebumps formed on his arms as he buried his face into Michiru's neck.

Michiru had said his name a countless number of times, and Bansai panted, "Michiru…you don't have to just say my name…"

"I c-can't help it…" Michiru also panted as Bansai gave in a rough thrust. Michiru groaned, and clawed on his flesh, giving him red marks.

Bansai wrapped his arms around her back, and pulled her up, where they were both practically sitting up.

Michiru rested her hands on his shoulders, and kissed him on the lips. They both ruffled each other's hairs as Michiru pushed her tongue into the man's mouth. Bansai moaned in her mouth as Michiru tasted his hot, wet tongue.

Bansai nearly broke the kiss, but Michiru didn't want the kiss to end so shortly, so she landed her hand on the back of his head, and forcefully pushed him, connecting their lips yet again. Bansai grunted, but allowed her to kiss him. The only reason why he was about to break the kiss was because he was running out of air. He breathed through his nose, but that wasn't exactly helping.

He grabbed Michiru's hips, and pushed her up as he thought, _Her song's getting louder and louder._

He half-smirked, and pushed Michiru back down. When his shaft hit her, Michiru broke the kiss, and gave out a somewhat loud moan. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders tightly, and softly kissed the crook of his neck. Bansai hammered into her, and Michiru muffled her moans in his neck.

Bansai eventually pulled his member out, but he told her, "Turn."

Michiru briefly nodded, and turned her body around. She rested her upper body on the bed as Bansai squeezed her buttock. Michiru had the top of her head on the bed, so she could only see things upside down.

Bansai pushed his length inside of her warmth, and Michiru clenched her teeth as he began thrusting again. He slammed into her multiple times, and thought as sweat trickled down his muscles, _She's really warm…_

He tilted his body forward, and placed his chest on Michiru's back. He brought his lips to her ear, and whispered, "Do you feel good, Michiru?"

"What…?" Michiru stared into his light-green eyes. Bansai gave her a calm expression, but she knew he wanted her to answer. She narrowed her eyes, and muttered, "Y-Ye…Yes…"

Without warning, Bansai grabbed breast for the umpteenth time, and savagely pushed his member inside of Michiru. She groaned loudly as her body shook tremendously. Michiru's chin landed on the pillow, and she gripped on the blanket tightly as Bansai gave out a grunt. Bansai kissed her shoulder blade as Michiru cried out, "D-Don't be so r-rough!"

Bansai didn't reply to her, but he definitely heard what she said. He didn't want to be so rough, but maybe his body couldn't help it. His mind told him to be gentle, but his (Sweaty) body ordered him to be rough. It was like an angel and a devil on his shoulders. The angel would say something like, 'Don't be so hard on Michiru', and the devil would most likely say, 'Go ahead, Bansai. Rock her freaking world'.

He pulled out of her yet again, but he turned Michiru around, forcing her to lie on the bed. Michiru widened her eyes, but before she could say anything, Bansai rammed into her.

Michiru's mouth widened, and she shut her eyes as she cried, "Ahh!"

Bansai clenched his teeth as his shaft hit her. He grabbed her ankles, and lifted them up while he was fastening his thrusts. His thrusts were sharp, but Michiru couldn't help but moan loudly.

She was starting to feel good. Maybe _too_ good, actually.

Tears formed in her eyes, and she tried whimpering, "Ban…Bansai…I-I can't take th-this anymore! I feel t-too h-hot!"

Bansai knitted his teal brows, and thought in realization, _Her song's about to end. That felt quick._

Bansai stopped for a moment to concentrate. He panted, and Michiru asked him, "Wh-Why did you s-stop, Bansai?"

"I needed concentration," Bansai immediately answered as he was ignoring the sweat that was trickling down his nose.

Michiru frowned, "Concentration?"

Bansai didn't say anything, but he pushed in deeply. Since Michiru was taken by surprise, she arched her back, and groaned. She had attempted to turn to the side, but Bansai was still holding her ankles.

Bansai let go of one of her ankles, and rubbed her clit with his fingers as his thrusts were getting harder and harder.

Michiru covered her mouth, trying not to scream from the intense pleasure she was having. She pushed herself up a bit, having her elbows on the bed, and gasped, "Please d-don't do that! If you k-keep feeling m-me, I'll go c-crazy!"

"Your song is starting to end, I daresay," Bansai replied, rubbing her sensitive area faster than before.

"S-Stop! Please st-stop! My b-body's going to go insane!"

"I don't want to stop, Michiru. No matter how much you beg, I'm not going to stop."

Bansai grasped her thigh as he gave in sharp thrusts. He wanted to thrust as fast as he could go. And the faster he did it – and the more he rubbed her clit – the sooner Michiru would reach her peak.

Michiru breathed, "No…n-no! Why won't you s-stop already?!"

"I told you," Bansai accidentally growled. "I'm not going to stop, no matter how much you cry and beg."

Tears streamed down Michiru's cheeks, and she thought, _Why won't he stop?! I'm about to go insane! Oh, god…!_

Bansai hit her g-spot, and just as Michiru was about to scream in pleasure, Bansai crashed his lips onto hers'. He probably knew she was going to scream, because Michiru screamed into his mouth. It wasn't quiet, but it wasn't loud, either.

Bansai pulled his lips away, and a string of saliva drifted off of his, and Michiru's, tongue.

He hit her spot again as he still felt her clit. In a matter of seconds, Michiru snapped her eyes wide, and arched her back as the walls of her womanhood squeezed him. She leaned her head back on the pillow, and her body shook uncontrollably as her wetness covered his erection.

She thought, completely losing concentration, _What's happening to me? I feel so…so…flustered._

Bansai rubbed her for a few more seconds before finally letting go of her. He thought, _Her song ended. Should I stop, or should I keep going?_

He contemplated for a moment as Michiru breathed heavily in exhaustion. She placed a hand over her heart, feeling it beat rapidly.

She looked down, and realized that Bansai didn't pull his member out. She furrowed her red brows, and tried asking, "A-Aren't you going to-"

Bansai interrupted her, "I'm not done, Michiru."

"What do you m-mean you're not-"

Once again, he interrupted her, "Your song may have ended, but I also want to hear _my _song end. So I'm not going to stop until my song is over."

Right after he said that, he pushed her butt off the bed. Michiru gasped, and thought, _Why am I practically upside down now?!_

Without warning, Bansai started thrusting inside her. As he held her bottom up, Michiru squirmed, feeling a little uncomfortable in this position.

Bansai knelt up, and pounded inside of Michiru as more drool trailed down her cheek. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she thought as she was feeling unconscious, _His hard manhood…it's making me lose consciousness! How is that even possible?! Why is this happening to me?!_

She wanted to slap herself, just to make her more conscious, but her body wouldn't cooperate. In fact, her body, shockingly, went numb. Michiru even tried talking, but no words came out of her mouth.

Bansai growled as he fastened his thrusts like before. Each thrust caused Michiru to twitch.

Michiru finally managed to talk, but she whimpered weakly as her vision became blurry from the tears, "Bansai…Bansai…"

He wasn't listening. Michiru's brows furrowed, and she spoke a bit louder, "Bansai…! Bansai…Bansai!"

_How many times am I going to have to say his name until he actually hears me?_

Michiru exclaimed in a hoarse tone, "Bansai!"

Bansai gasped, and he noticed that Michiru was crying again. He widened his eyes as Michiru sniffed, "Th-This position is a bit u-uncomfortable."

He narrowed his eyes, and suggested, "Do you want to just lie down, then?"

"Please," Michiru gave him a small smile.

Bansai pulled his manhood out, and let Michiru relax on the bed. He said, "I guess I got a bit carried away."

"Th-That's alright," Michiru replied as Bansai held her legs wide.

He breathed out, and then slid his member in. Michiru wrapped her legs around his back like last time, but she held the back of his neck, and slowly pushed him down.

She brought her lips to his ear, and decided to ask, "Bansai…do you love me?"

Bansai raised his brows in surprise. This was a question he did _not _expect Michiru to ask (Then again, he _had_ kissed her multiple times).

He stared at her as she stared at him back. She wanted him to answer, because that question had been roaming through her head since they started to have sex.

Bansai blinked his small eyes, and gave out a sigh. He didn't want to deny anything, so he admitted in a whisper, "Yes."

Michiru smiled, and hugged him, burying her face in his chest. She asked, "If you didn't love me, would you still do this to me?"

"Probably not," He admitted once again.

Michiru softly chuckled as Bansai started thrusting slowly. She moaned while Bansai asked the same question Michiru asked him, "Do you love me?"

The sapphire-eyed woman nodded, "Yes, Bansai."

Bansai nearly closed his eyes, and out of curiosity, he asked another question, "How long have you been in love with me?"

"Since, maybe, a few weeks ago. I don't know, I kind of lost track."

"Heh," Bansai chuckled. "I think you lost track, because you're still drunk."

"You're r-right," Michiru agreed, chuckling as well. "I am s-still drunk."

Bansai lifted her bangs up, and whispered, "Let's stop talking for now."

"Right," Michiru muttered before putting her hands on his back again.

Bansai pulled his member out, and held it, making the side of it tease her clit. Michiru mewed, and clawed her nails onto his back. Bansai groaned before telling the woman, "Michiru, I want you to be on top now."

He held her hand, and pulled her up as Bansai lied on the bed. Michiru knelt, having her womanhood over his member. Michiru held his member, but for some reason, she paused, looking like she didn't know what to do next.

Bansai rolled his eyes, and grabbed her hips before pushing her down, having his member all the way in. Michiru leaned back, moaning a bit weakly at his sudden action.

The musician grasped on her hips, and since it didn't look like she was going to do anything, he pushed her up and down.

Michiru rested the side of her head on her shoulder, and grunted, "Oh, god…"

She lost focus yet again. She put her hands on Bansai's thighs as he moved her faster. Michiru moaned in a high tone, and she closed her eyes as she whispered something that was inaudible for Bansai to hear. He didn't bother asking her to repeat her comment, though. Michiru was probably cursing under her breath, anyway.

Michiru brought her fingers to her lips, and licked them. Bansai raised a brow, wondering why she did that. He was about to ask, but she set her wet fingers on her clit, and began rubbing it.

The redheaded woman moaned louder than she had expected, but she didn't give a crap about that. She eventually started moving on her own, but Bansai still held her hips.

As she rubbed her most sensitive part, Bansai smirked, "Are you trying to get yourself excited again?"

Michiru didn't answer him. Instead, she continued feeling her swollen clit as her eyes nearly closed. She bit her lower lip to prevent herself from making any loud noises (Even though she had already made a few loud noises not too long ago).

All of a sudden, Bansai felt his stomach turn. He clenched his teeth, and tightly shut his eyes as he thought, _It sounds like my song is almost over._

He pushed Michiru off of him, making her lie back down. Michiru yelped, "What w-was that for?!"

Bansai whispered in her ear, "My song is about to end."

"Huh?" She frowned, but Bansai rammed into her.

Michiru gasped in surprise, and grabbed a handful of his hair as she exclaimed, "N-Not so r-rough, Bansai!"

"I'm not being rough," Bansai said as he thrust inside the woman.

Michiru wrapped her legs around Bansai's, and he also grabbed her hair as Michiru flicked her tongue on his warm skin. She pleasurably grunted as she was starting to yank his hair. She wasn't doing that on purpose; she just couldn't control herself.

Bansai accidentally scratched her arms, but Michiru ignored the scratches, and kissed the side of Bansai's neck. She dug her nails onto the back of his shoulders, and raked his flesh as Bansai started growling.

He was starting to reach his peak.

He hammered into Michiru faster and faster, and he thought, _I need to make sure I pull out of her before my song climaxes._

The man clenched his teeth harder as he leaned up, holding Michiru's wrists down. Michiru barely raised her feet off the bed, and she yelled out his name, "Bansai!"

Bansai would've told her to be quiet, but he was barely concentrating anymore.

He gave in one more thrust before pulling his member out. He wrapped his hand around it, and pumped it as another growl escaped his lips. He pumped it for a few seconds before reaching his climax. Bansai groaned loudly as he came on Michiru's stomach.

When he was done, he panted heavily in exhaustion. He breathed quietly as he grabbed some more tissues from his nightstand. He used the tissues to clean off Michiru's stomach.

As soon as her stomach was clean, he got off the bed, and went to the bathroom again to throw away the tissues. Michiru relaxed, and thought, _I don't e-even know h-how to describe it. It was…insane._

Bansai soon came back, and when he sat down, he narrowed his eyes, and asked, "Did you enjoy it, Michiru?"

Michiru leaned up a bit, and asked back, "D-Did you?"

"I asked you first."

Michiru frowned, but sighed, "Perhaps I-I did." She put her arms around his waist, and added as she kissed his back, "Why were you b-being so rough, Bansai?"

Bansai almost inaudibly sighed, "I couldn't control myself, apparently."

"Bansai," She whispered his name.

Bansai turned his head to the side, and hummed, "Hm?"

In a split second, Michiru softly kissed his lips. Bansai raised his brows in slight surprise, but he closed his small eyes, and returned the kiss.

Almost a minute had passed before Michiru drifted the kiss away. She muttered as she unwrapped her arms from his body, "I feel t-tired."

"Same here," Bansai replied. Michiru pulled the blankets, and slid under them as Bansai did the same thing. He blew out the candle that was still – and always – on his nightstand, and then lied behind Michiru.

He wrapped his arm around her torso as he whispered, "Good-night, Michiru."

Michiru yawned, "Good-night, Bansai."

With that, they both went to sleep. Michiru was most likely going to forget what just happened by the time morning came, so when she wakes up, she'll be in for a _big _surprise.

* * *

**Wow, that was long. It's probably the longest chapter - out of all my other stories - I've ever written. Part of me feels a bit ashamed that this was almost 10,000 words (I don't like making my readers read chapters that're this long), but...I don't like writing Lemon so short, so...yeah. XP**

**Yes, I'm aware that Bansai and Michiru didn't wear protection. No, Michiru won't get pregnant (Yeah, I decided to give you a spoiler. :P); I wouldn't want her to suffer having kids. LOL**

**Hope you enjoyed chapter 12! :)**


	13. Saying I love you is very hard

**Yes, this chapter is shorter than the others, but I wanted to update quickly, because there was a review I wanted to respond to (I couldn't PM them, because it was anonymous [Which frustrated and annoyed me]).**

**To Anon Concrit:**

** I should have you know that Bansai did _not _rape Michiru. Sure, he was a little hard on her, but that didn't mean he was raping her (He didn't even _mean_ to be rough on her). You have clearly gotten the wrong idea. I am sorry for making it seem like that, but again, it was _not _rape _at_ _all_. **

**Also, for this part: "Bansai takes home a woman who is so drunk that he believes she won't remember having sex with him the next day. There is no way that can pass as consent. That's rape, pure and simple." I should have you know that Bansai wanted to take Michiru home (And then Bansai would return to his apartment), but he couldn't, because Michiru couldn't remember the name of the street she lived in. **

**You can disagree with me on all this (I am saying the truth, though), but I will repeat myself one more time. It was _not _rape; it was also _not _violent sex in the slightest way. And another thing, I won't delete your review, since it wasn't exactly a flame, but I feel very upset by this. Again, I'm sorry for making it seem like violent sex, but it wasn't._  
_**

* * *

**-Michiru's POV-**

The sun poured into the room, and I gave out a grunt before squinting my eyes. While I was opening my eyes, my vision was a bit blurry. But eventually, it cleared up, and when I saw the room completely…I realized that this wasn't my room.

My eyes snapped wide, and I rotated my head slowly as I thought, _This isn't my room…where am I?!_

I peered down, and saw that an arm was around my torso. My jaw dropped, and I yelled in my head, _What the fuck?!_

I was terrified to see who's arm it was, but I had to. I swiftly turned my head, around, and saw Bansai, sleeping right behind me.

Oh…my…god.

My eyes were as wide as saucers, and my lips trembled as Bansai knitted his brows, and gave out a groan before slowly lifting his eyelids up. He actually wasn't wearing his sunglasses or headphones, so I got to see what his eyes looked like.

When he saw me, the corner of his lip curved up, and he greeted me, "Morning, Michiru."

I exclaimed, "Why am I sleeping in your bed?!"

He chuckled, "Don't you remember, Michiru? You were drunk last night, and since you couldn't tell me where you lived, I brought you here."

"That doesn't explain why I'm in your bed, naked from head-to-toe!" My cheeks were beginning to turn red. I was in a mixture of embarrassment, and anger.

Bansai stopped chuckling, and the small smirk disappeared from his face. He narrowed his eyes, and explained, "Michiru…you had a beautiful tune in your song that I wanted to listen to. I tried kissing you, but you refused to let me do that. You kept on saying that I was a pervert, but I'm not."

I interjected, "Did you rape me?!"

He frowned, "No, I did not rape you. I would _never_ do such a thing. Anyway, you eventually gave in, and I…made love with you."

I gasped quietly, "M-Made love?"

"I will admit that I was a little hard on you last night, but I didn't mean to do that. I got carried away, I daresay. And you asked me if I loved you, and I admitted I did."

I quickly covered my mouth, and felt my cheeks growing hotter. Bansai added in a whisper, "And you also admitted that you loved me."

As soon as those words came out of his mouth, it clicked my mind. I remembered everything last night! Well, almost everything. The only part I couldn't remember was where I put my clothes.

A louder gasped escaped my lips, and pushed his arm off of my waist as I practically yelled, "Where're my clothes?!" I noticed that my clothes weren't in here, so I demanded Bansai to answer.

He responded as he started sitting up, "I believe they're in the bathroom."

I stormed out of the bedroom, and dashed into the bathroom, where I saw my clothes lying on the floor. I grabbed them, and quickly put them on as I thought, _I can't believe it! I told Bansai I loved him…while I was drunk! And he…made love to me. Wait, did he use a condom?!_

Now I was starting to panic. If he didn't use a condom last night, then I would have the risk of getting pregnant.

I yelled from the bathroom, "Bansai, did you wear a condom last night?!"

As if on cue, Bansai entered the bathroom, wearing a purple kimono. He answered with crossed arms, "I didn't, I daresay. I actually don't have any here."

"Wha-?!" I was speechless. I clenched my teeth in anger, and shouted, "Why did you have sex with me, then?!"

"Michiru," Bansai said in a low tone. "I forgot that I didn't have any condoms here, and I was about to stop, but you told me to continue. You also said that we could use a condom next time."

I paused, now feeling dumbfounded. I knelt on the rug, and scolded myself, "I should've stopped you. I feel like an idiot now."

Bansai stepped behind me, and grabbed my arm, pulling me up. I looked at him in the eyes, and he replied, "You're not an idiot. You were drunk, that's all."

I frowned at the last part, "You're not making me feel any better."

He rolled his eyes, and let go of my arm, but leaned his face closer to me. My frown deepened, and I questioned hesitantly, "Wh-What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Without answering my question, he placed his lips on mine. My brows raised up, and I gasped into his mouth. My face burned to the point where it felt like I was in an oven.

Bansai soon drifted the kiss away, and he whispered as his face was only centimeters away from mine, "I love you, Michiru."

My head started shaking, and I whimpered, "H-How're you n-not embarrassed by all th-this?!"

"I don't get embarrassed easily, I daresay."

I averted my gaze away from him, and placed my hand over my mouth again as I furrowed my brows, thinking, _H-He just kissed me again!_

Bansai rested a hand on my shoulder, and forced me to turn around. I still avoided eye contact, but he ordered me, "Say that you love me back. I know you have feelings for me."

I shook my head violently, refusing to say those words. Bansai sighed, "Just say it. It can't be that hard."

He was right. It wouldn't be this hard to say "I love you", but my throat was clogging up. I pulled my hand away from my lips, but I still didn't say anything. Sweat formed on my cheeks as my heart was beating at a rapid speed.

Bansai leaned his back on the doorframe, and gazed at me as he was patiently waiting for my response.

I managed to get the first word out, but it turned out to be quieter than I wanted it to be.

"I-I…"

Of course, the lump in my throat wouldn't let me say the other two words (If that made any sense, whatsoever). Bansai arched a teal brow, and commanded calmly, "Can you speak louder? I can't hear you very well, I daresay."

Without thinking, I screeched, "I love you!"

Right after I screeched those three words, Bansai laughed. I glared at him, and snarled, "Don't laugh at me!"

"But the way you said it sounded funny," He pointed out as he grinned.

I huffed, and grabbed the handle to my purse, but I realized something.

I told Mika that I'd be home last night…but instead, I stayed at Bansai's apartment.

I yowled, "Shit! I need to get home! My sister's probably worried about me!"

In my mind, I corrected myself, _No, not probably. She IS worried about me!_

Without sparing another second, I ran out of the bathroom, and hollered, "Bansai, next time we make love, bring a freaking condom!"

As soon as I put on my shoes, I stomped out of his apartment, and slammed the door.

I ran down the stairs, and moments later, I was on the streets, running for my life. I was still panicking, because I was terrified that I would get pregnant. Yes, I knew that birth control could prevent that, but I would never use them, because I'd most likely forget to take them each day. So yeah, birth control was _out of the question_.

While I was dashing through the streets of Hinode, I accidentally bumped into someone. I gasped, "Sorry!"

The person I bumped into was Matako. She widened her eyes at me, and asked, "Michiru-san, what's the hurry?" I noticed that she was wearing a green eye-patch over her left eye.

I calmed down (But didn't stop freaking out), and pointed at the eye-patch as I tried asking my friend, "Is that…?"

Before I could finish my question, Matako responded as she touched the patch, "Yes, it's from Setsora-san elbowing me in the eye."

I decided to ask, just to see if she was okay, "Is your eye alright?"

She nodded, "I went to the doctor yesterday, and he said my eye will heal in about a week or so."

I began to think about yesterday, when I pepper sprayed Teki in the eyes. I chewed on my lower lip, but then asked another question, "Did I get pepper spray on you?" I asked her that, because Matako was right behind Teki, and I was worried I got it in her eyes as well.

"You got a little bit on me, but it's nothing too serious."

I sighed with relief, "Good."

"Anyway, I saw you running just now. Are you in a hurry or something?"

My shoulder shifted up, but I was able to respond, "Yes, I am actually in a hurry. I was heading for home just now."

She raised a blonde brow, "Were you at someone else's house?"

I wasn't so sure if I wanted to tell Matako that I slept at Bansai's apartment last night. No, actually, I didn't want to tell her that I _slept_ with Bansai. I was embarrassed enough when Bansai told me what happened.

I cleared my throat, and answered half-truthfully, "I was at Bansai's apartment."

She furrowed a brow, and before she could reply to me, I continued, "I was frustrated, so I went to the bar to get myself a drink. Coincidentally, Bansai was there, and I told him about my problems with Setsora-san."

Matako replied, "Michiru-san, didn't you once tell me that you've never drank beer before?"

"Well, yeah, but because I was so infuriated, I decided to drink alcohol for the first time. My mother told me that drinking can clear up my mind, and surprisingly, it did…sort of. Then, I became so drunk, that Bansai gave me a piggy back ride. He was trying to send me home, but I couldn't remember the name of my street, so he took me to his apartment."

"And you slept there?"

"Yeah," I admitted.

Matako sighed, "Does your sister know about this?"

I shook my head, "No. I told her that I was coming home last night…but I didn't return home, so I'm sure she's worried about me." I ran my fingers through my long hair, and added, "I have to get home! See ya, Matako-san!"

She waved at me as I staggered away from the blonde.

I needed to get home as soon as possible, because I didn't want Mika to be petrified about me not returning home the night before. I was definitely at fault for not informing her about me going to somebody else's place. Hopefully, though, she would understand why I wasn't home.

Soon, I finally returned, and I slammed the door behind me (What is it with me and slamming doors?) as I panted heavily in exhaustion.

I heard my sister yell, "Michiru, where have you been?! I was worried about you!"

Just as I expected, Mika was upset. As I was catching my breath, I breathed, "Calm down, Mika. I can explain."

"How the hell can I calm down when you didn't return home last night?! I nearly called the police!"

Okay, now I was feeling very guilty. I frowned at myself, and thought, _I really am an idiot._

I raised my hands up, and told her, "Please let me explain. I have a reason for not coming home until now."

Mika remained silent, but she was still concerned, obviously. I took a deep breath, and told her everything that she needed to know, including the part where Teki tried cutting my hair off. Actually, I wasn't going to tell her about my affair with Bansai. I was going to tell her – and Matako – sometime, but now was not a good time, because I was too embarrassed to even _think_ about it.

When I finished explaining, Mika furrowed her brows, and crossed her arms as she scoffed, "You could've at least called me."

"I'm sorry, Mika," I apologized. "I didn't mean for that to happen."

Mika averted her gaze away from me, and replied in a calmer tone, "So while you were at work yesterday, Setsora-san tried cutting your hair?"

I nodded slowly, "Yes. He tried doing that, because he said he would keep my hair in a box."

"That's really creepy," She shuddered.

I agreed, "Yeah." I pulled out the small can of pepper spray, and added, sounding quieter than before, "At least I pepper sprayed him." A snort of amusement escaped my lips, and I took off my slippers before entering the living room.

Mika informed me, "Oh, Michiru. If you're planning on using it again, make sure to shake it up before spraying it. You should also make sure you're outside."

"I'll keep that in mind. How do you know that much about pepper spray, though?"

"Hinowa-san told me about it."

"I see." That was all I could say. I peered at the canister, and thought, _I hope Teki won't attempt to cut my hair again. Otherwise I'll use this on him again._

I grasped onto the palm-sized can, and asked, "Do you want me to make some lunch?" I knew that this question was sudden, but my stomach was starting to growl.

Despite my abrupt question, however, Mika sighed, "Yeah. I'm getting hungry, anyway."

I smiled, "Same here." I headed for the kitchen, and added as I opened up the fridge door, "What do you want for lunch?"

Mika shrugged, "Just a sandwich."

Nodding, I took out some meat, mayonnaise, and lettuce. I put them on the counter, and grabbed a bag of bread. I opened it, and took out four slices of bread.

Mika sat on the couch, and as I was making the sandwiches, I suggested, _I should probably get a pregnancy test in a few weeks. And I freaking HOPE I'm not pregnant!_

**-3****rd**** POV-**

Bansai entered the bathroom, and decided to take a shower, because his hair was starting to get a bit oily.

He took off his kimono, and dropped it on the floor before opening the shower door. Bansai stepped in, and turned on the shower. He placed his hand under the water, checking to see if it was warm. It was, and Bansai closed the shower door, giving himself some privacy. Then again, he lived alone, so it didn't matter, really.

He closed his small eyes as the water wet his spiky hair down. The man laced his fingers through it as he thought, _Why couldn't I control myself last night?_

Obviously, he was referring to last night. Bansai didn't mean to be so hard on Michiru while they were making love, but maybe his body couldn't help it. He hated himself for being so rough, but at least he didn't hurt Michiru.

He still needed to get a box of condoms, though. And he was going to get some today, after he took his shower, of course.

Anyway, Bansai squirted some shampoo into his hair, and scrubbed it as he shut his eyes tightly. He murmured to himself, "Got to get all that grease out."

Over ten minutes later, he finished his shower, and he turned off the water as he used a hand to rub his eyes. But there was still water over his eyelids, so he couldn't open them yet, because he didn't want it to get in his eyes.

He walked out of the shower, and grabbed a random towel. The musician dried his face, and he finally opened his eyes before placing the towel over his head.

He grabbed another towel, and wrapped it around his lower body. As soon as that was taken care of, he grabbed his hair dryer, and dried his teal hair off. He made sure that every drop of water disappeared.

Bansai ruffled his hair, and when he didn't feel any water in his hair, he turned off the hair dryer, and set it on the counter. His hair was pretty messy, but he paid no mind to it; instead, he put the towel back on the rack, and he left the bathroom, now heading towards his room.

As soon as he entered his bedroom, he went over to his dresser, and pulled out a shirt, and a pair of jeans.

Bansai pulled the towel off of his body, and he started dressing himself as he spotted his pair of sunglasses on the floor.

He picked up the dark shades, and thought, _They're not broken. Good. I was worried there for a second._

He was still a bit mad at Michiru for throwing his sunglasses on the floor, but at least they didn't break. If they were broken to a million pieces, then he would've bought himself a new pair. There weren't very many pairs of sunglasses that were as murky as Bansai's, so he was glad his glasses were "unharmed".

The man put them on, and he grabbed his headphones from his nightstand. He set them over his ears, and turned the music on, listening to another one of Tsu Terakado's controversial songs.

Bansai finally got dressed, and he heaved a sigh as he stepped out of his room.

He went into his kitchen, and when he opened up the refrigerator, he saw that the only items that were in there were milk, vegetables, and some chicken stalk.

Bansai made a frown, and told himself, "I need to get some groceries later."

After letting the fridge door close, he pulled out a piece of paper, and a pen, from one of the drawers. He wrote down a list of groceries that he was going to get at the store.

When he finished, he placed the pen on the clean counter, and folded the paper into a small square before stuffing it into his right pocket.

He rested his palms on the kitchen counter, and thought about earlier, when he told Michiru his feelings.

_I wonder how I managed to say "I love you" to Michiru without any hesitation._

He rubbed his forehead, and peered at his hands as he added, _Oh well, I don't think that matters. But, I also don't think we should be boyfriend and girlfriend._

Bansai didn't exactly want his relationship with Michiru to be boyfriend-girlfriend, because he wanted to focus on making more music for Tsu. Besides, Michiru probably wouldn't want to be his girlfriend, because she looked so mortified when she remembered what she and Bansai did the night before. Then again, she _did_ say she loved him. Wait, this isn't making much sense…

Never mind.

Bansai lifted his bangs up, and wondered, _If we were boyfriend and girlfriend, our relationship would get a bit complicated._

* * *

**I honestly hate this chapter. I was really frustrated while writing this.**

**I think I'm going to take a break from writing this story, but remember, I won't put this on hiatus. :P**

**Hope you enjoyed chapter 13, anyway! :)**


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